The Return of Chase
by Chase Nirvs
Summary: Chase mysteriously disappears while traveling in Johto with Leta. Ten years later, Chase reappears, with a different life than expected.
1. Johto

**Welcome to another fic, brought to you by none other than Chase Nirvs! This is the story that I have been waiting for ever since I started Chase the Eevee Master. I that you'll enjoy it as much as I have fun writing it. Enough with the pleasantries, ONTO THE FIC!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

In the middle of the ocean, a ship was making steady progress from the Hoenn region to the Johto region. It was a week before all the leagues opened up for the new season to begin. And all trainers were waiting anxiously for the beginning of the coming season. While all other trainers were sleeping in their cabins, one trainer snuck out and made his way to the railing. He watched as the glow from the stars above light up the sky.

_Johto. The next frontier. Maybe I'll find more answers concerning Neo Team Rocket and my parents. _He looked down at the pendant that he was wearing around his neck. On the pendant, there were six stones, each representing one of his pokémon. However, it wasn't the stones that he was looking at this moment. He opened the pendant and saw a picture of himself and a young girl. He couldn't help but smile as he looked at the picture.

"Chase," a voice called from behind the boy. He turned around to see a young girl who was right behind him. It was the same girl from his picture in his pendant. "What are you doing out here so late? You should be back inside resting up for our landing tomorrow."

"I'm sorry Leta. I just couldn't sleep," Chase said, as he walked toward Leta. "And finally landing in Johto tomorrow isn't helping the fact that I can't sleep much either because I'm so excited to be moving on this journey." Chase took Leta's hand. "And as long as we're both up, why don't we go up to the bow of the ship?" he asked, as he led her to the front of the ship.

After making their way to the front of the ship, the two looked out over the ocean. "See that glow off the horizon?" Chase asked, pointing to the faint glow. Leta strained to see it, and nodded her head. "That glow is the beginning of a bright new adventure for us." He stood behind her while having his arms wrapped around her waist. "I'm glad you're here," he whispered.

"Why?" Leta asked, slightly taken aback.

"Because I couldn't imagine how it would be differently," Chase said. "I probably would have been somewhere else, wherever that crate I was in was supposed to go. I'm just really glad that it turned out this way."

"I'm glad too," Leta said, twisting around in Chase's arms. When she turned to face him, she smiled at him, and then started to laugh. She caught the surprised look on Chase's face.

Chase followed her outstretched arm to see what she was pointing at. Up on a balcony, he saw Adam and Megan spying on them. "Sorry guys," Chase yelled up to them, laughing, "but this bow is already taken! You can have it tomorrow night!"

"Chaaaase," Leta whispered.

"Yes?" Chase said, turning back to Leta. She didn't say anything. Nor did he. Slowly, their lips were inching closer together. But right as they were about to kiss, a gust of wind blew across the bow, and Leta shivered. "Cold?"

"Kind of," Leta said.

"Let's get back to our cabin then and warm back up," Chase said, starting to led the way back to the cabin.

"Okay," Leta said, following closely behind.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Around mid morning, the ship had docked at the Olivine City dock. Chase, Leta, Adam, and Megan made their way off the ship to say their goodbyes. After saying bye to his sister, Adam pulled Chase off to the side. "Now you know what I'm going to say, right?"

"Something along the lines of 'take care of her, or I'll come back and take care of you', am I right?" Chase asked.

"Yup! And as long as you understand me, we'll have no problems," Adam laughed.

"Don't worry 'bout a thing," Chase said. "But you two need to get back on the ship before it leaves for Kanto and the Islands."

"Oh? Trying to get rid of us already?!" Megan asked teasingly.

"No, that's not it!" Leta jumped in. "We just don't want you two to miss the boat. Now, back onto the boat with you two," she said, trying to push Megan back towards the ship.

"I don't see the big . . ." Adam started to say.

"ALL ABOARD FOR KANTO AND THE ISLANDS!" a voice over the public announcement system said. "LAST CALL!"

"There's your rush," Chase said, as he watched Adam and Megan walk back up the bridge onto the ship.

"Ten bucks he yells something back as the ship leaves," Leta said.

"Ten says he doesn't," Chase countered.

The ship started to pull away, when Adam suddenly yelled, "TAKE CARE OF HER, CHASE!"

"I do believe you owe me ten bucks now," Leta said, extending her hand, waiting for the money.

"Can't I just buy you lunch instead?" Chase whined.

"I guess so," Leta sighed. She was already looking for a nice restaurant to get her money's worth.

Xxxxxx

After lunch, Chase and Leta went to the Pokémon Center in Olivine to rest up their pokémon before continuing to New Bark. As they waited for their pokémon to be returned, a man in a white lab suit walked up to them. "New comers to Johto?" the man asked.

"Yes sir," Chase said. "I am Chase Nirvs from Pallet town in Kanto," he said as he shook hands with the man.

"And I am Leta Masters from Littleroot Town in Hoenn," Leta said, introducing herself.

"My name is Prof Elm. You don't happen to know Prof Oak, do you Chase?" Elm asked.

"Well I should! I lived with the professor for like two years!" Chase exclaimed.

"Why don't you two come with me to my lab back in New Bark Town," Elm offered. "I'm sure Oak would like to know that you made it here safely."

"Sure we'll come!" Leta said. "Just let us get our pokémon back first."

"Great. I got a van outside," Elm said, as he left the center.

"You think that we should start from New Bark?" Leta asked.

"Why not? That's most trainers start from in this region," Chase said.

"Here are your pokémon," Nurse Joy said, handing them their pokémon back. "Have fun while you're here in Johto!"

"Kay! Thanks!" Chase and Leta said while leaving the center to go find Elm. They found his van close by and got in with Elm to head to New Bark.

Xxxxxx

As the van pulled up to the lab in New Bark, a man and woman ran out of the lab and up to the van. "Professor," the man panted heavily. "A Cyndaquil and Chikorita have been stolen from the lab this morning!"

"We saw a young boy and girl jump through the back window when we tried to stop them," the woman said, panting just as hard.

"All that's left is the Totodile then," Elm said.

"You said they took off out back?" Chase asked, jumping out of the van and running behind the lab.

"Yeah but . . ," the man said, after Chase disappeared behind the lab. The man turned to Elm. "The two kids looked a little familiar though. Like JR and Missy."

"JR AND MISSY?!" Elm yelled. "Those two aren't suppose to be here until the day the league starts up."

"Uh, excuse me," Leta said. "Do you have a picture of these two kids, JR and Missy?"

"Actually, I do," the man said, pulling out a photo and handing it to Leta.

"Thanks! We'll be back soon!" Leta said, running off in the same direction as Chase did a moment before. _I wonder how strong a Cyndaquil and Chikarita is._

Xxxxxx

_One boy, one girl, a Cyndaquil, and a Chikarita. Yup, that's them,_ Chase thought as he spied on two kids playing near a pond with the stolen pokémon from behind a tree. _Funny, they don't look like pokémon thieves. They look like they've already made their decision and just couldn't wait to get them. Well, let's see how they like this, _he thought, as he looked at Shadow, his red ringed Umbreon, and a pokéball that held an Espeon, Sunny.

Chase walked out from behind the tree, having already released Sunny, and walked to the pond like nothing was out of the norm. As soon as the two kids saw him, they both jumped up and took a defensive stance. Chase saw this, and laughed under his breath. "You think that's gonna scare me kids?"

"No, but this should. EMBER!" the boy yelled, as the Cyndaquil launched a small fire attack in Shadow's direction, who dodged without a problem.

"Not bad for a starter like yourself kid, but try this. Quick Attack, Shadow!" Chase commanded. Shadow accelerated to an amazing blur and knocked the little fire pokémon into a tree, knocking it out on contact.

"You can't do that! Razor Leaf, Chikarita!" the girl yelled. Small razor sharp leaves flew in the direction of Sunny. All Sunny did was sit there, until the last possible second, then her eyes glowed brightly, as the leaves all froze, then fall to the ground. "NO WAY!"

"And now, use Swift, Sunny!" Chase commanded, as star shaped rays shot out of Sunny's mouth and hit the grass pokémon right on. The attack knocked the Chikarita off it's feet, but it recovered quickly. "Want more do you?"

The girl tightened her fists. "Chikarita, tac…"

"STOP!" a girl's voice yelled from the forest.

"I know that voice, it's Leta," Chase said. The girl stopped her command to see another person emerge from the forest.

"You must be the two kids who stole those pokémon," Leta said sternly at the kids. "Those pokémon don't belong to you two. Now, give them up."

"No way!" the boy said. "This is the Cyndaquil that I was choosing when I go to select which pokémon I want."

"And the same for this Chikarita," the girl said.

"We didn't mean to steal them. We just wanted to get some time to get to know the pokémon before we got them for real," the boy said.

"Yeah, we were going to return them later this afternoon," the girl said.

"Why don't we go back to lab and explain to the professor what happened?" Chase asked the kids. "I'm sure he'd understand."

"You think so?" the two kids asked.

"Don't see why not, JR and Missy," Leta said.

"How do you know our names?" the boy, JR, asked.

"Oh, the professor kind of yelled your names out," Leta said.

"And how do you know that that's really us?" the girl, Missy asked.

"Well, other than that those pokémon are still Elm's property, you admitting so, and this," Leta said, holding up a photograph of the two kids.

"Busted," Chase laughed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Not really much to say I guess, other than it'll get really interesting in a few chapters. chuckles evilly to self **

**So you know the drill, you read it, now review! It's only the polite thing to do. Plus it lets me know what I need to do to write better.**

**So, until next time………**


	2. Starting Over

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase – 11 yrs ; Leta – 11 yrs ; JR – 10 yrs ; Missy – 10 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

After enduring the long League Opening Ceremony, which Leta had to beg Chase not to skip on this year, Chase, Leta, JR, and Missy all started out on their Johto adventure. Like always, Chase had his Eevee team, with Shadow walking beside the group. Leta had her Charizard, Gyarados, Seadra, Latias, and the Dratini that Chase had giving her on Christmas. JR had the Cyndaquil that he 'stole' from Elm's lab. And Missy also had the Chikorita that she had 'stole' as well.

The four of them were walking along the path that would lead them from New Bark Town to Cherrygrove. They stopped occasionally to let JR and Missy battle a wild pokémon or a random trainer. While the younger kids were busy with their own thing, Chase and Leta stood off to the side to give advice and support them.

But every now and then, Chase found himself drifting in his thoughts. _I didn't hear Prof Elm mention a thing about Neo Team Rocket while we were at his lab. I wonder if they have a base here in Johto, or if they even operate here._

_**Good question**_, a voice said in Chase's head.

Chase knew the voice well. _Haven't heard from you for a while. What happened?_

_**Activity, or lack thereof. I didn't feel the need to show myself,**_ Nogitsune said to Chase.

_Well, you aren't needed here, yet. But you never know, _Chase said to the fox spirit within him.

Leta looked over to Chase to see him having one of those private conversations with the fox spirit again. She rolled her eyes as she turned her attention back to the kids. _I don't know if that spirit is a benefit or not. But he doesn't seem to have ill feelings to the thing._ Noticing that the kids had both caught themselves a new pokémon, JR a Pidgey, and Missy a Rattata, she called Chase back to the path.

After a few minutes, Missy started complaining that she was getting hungry. As soon as she started, JR was right there with her. They stopped for lunch and started a small fire to cook the noodles.

As they were eating, JR asked, "Hey, I've only seen your Umbreon and Espeon. You got any other pokémon Chase?"

"Sure do," Chase said with a smile. He reached his belt and grabbed the other poke balls and released the others. His Eevee, Jolteon, Flareon, Vaporeon, and Espeon came out. As soon as the Espeon came out, it went over and sat beside Chase's Umbreon and rubbed up against it. "That's Fox, Sparks, Blaze, Aquis, Sunny, and Shadow."

"And it looks like Sunny likes Shadow," Missy giggled, seeing how the Espeon was rubbing up on Umbreon.

"Well I would hope so," Leta laughed. "Since Sunny is a girl Espeon and Shadow is a boy Umbreon."

"And if I remember correctly, Fox is also a female, while the other three are males," Chase said, scratching his chin.

"Are you planning on breeding them?" JR asked.

"Someday in the future. Since I plan on being the world's greatest Eevee Master, I'm going to have to breed them. But like I said, in the future," Chase said thoughtfully.

"And what kind do you have Leta?" Missy asked.

"Well, I have a Charizard, a Gyarados, a Seadra, a Latias, and a Dratini that Chase got me as a Christmas present," Leta said as she smiled sweetly to Chase. Chase just blushed lightly and smiled back.

"Can we see the Dratini?" the two kids asked at once.

With a laugh, Leta pulled out the poke ball for the Dratini and released it. The two kids stared at the dragon pokémon as they realized it wasn't blue like the one they saw in a picture.

"IT'S PINK?!" Missy asked, shocked.

"Yeah, I had to search long and hard to find that one," Chase laughed. "A friend of mine had told me of an oddly colored Dratini living in a cave. After she told me that, I knew that was what I needed to catch for her present."

"'She'?" Leta asked. She glared at Chase. "Who is this, 'she'?"

"A Dragon Master, someone you'd be happy to meet," Chase said, trying to ignore the glare.

"Uh huh," Leta said, still glaring.

To JR, Missy asked, "Is she about to lose it?"

"I don't know," JR replied.

"Who is 'she'?" Leta asked in a low tone.

"THEFINALGYMLEADERHEREINJOHTO.CLAIRTHEDRAGONMASTER,WHOSAIDISHOULDCATCHITFORYOU." Chase said quickly in a high voice (like you couldn't tell, hehe).

Suddenly, another poke ball popped open. "LATIAS!" Leta yelled out, as she watched the pokémon float over to Chase and sit in his lap.

"If that's your pokémon, why is it sitting with Chase?" Missy asked.

"Long story," Leta sighed.

"Well, we got time," JR said.

"Are you two double teaming us?" Chase asked. He saw them grin ridiculously. "She got an egg in Kanto from this man, and when the egg hatched, it saw both of us. So Leta is it's 'mother', whereas I'm the 'father'." Chase started to pet the pokémon's head, and it smiled.

"Ooooooh," Missy said.

"Hey kid!" a voice called out from down the path. The group turned to see a teen walking up to them. "Who owns those eevees?" He saw Chase grin at the question. "Yours then? Good. You want to battle?"

"Yeah, why not. I haven't had a battle in a while," Chase said, as he stood up and handed Latias to Leta. "So what are the stakes?"

"One on one sound good?" the teen asked.

"Fine by me. Sparks, go!" Chase commanded.

"Go Primeape!" the teen said, releasing the Primeape. The Primeape stared coldly at the Jolteon, and turned its back on him.

"Quick attack!" Chase commanded. _You never turn your back on an opponent. _Sparks rammed full speed into the back of the Primeape, which fell to the ground.

"That was a cheap shot!" the teen yelled out.

"Not my fault it let its guard down," Chase said defensively.

"Alright, you want to fight dirty. We can do that. Karate Chop! You to Machoke!" The teen released a second pokémon and both attacked the Jolteon with nearly devastating power.

"THAT'S UNFAIR! THIS IS A ONE ON ONE BATTLE!" Leta yelled from the sidelines. "THIS BATTLE IS…"

"ENOUGH!" Chase said, cutting her off. But something was in his voice. **"You want to play like that? Fine. We can play that game. Shadow, you ready?"** Shadow nodded his head. **"Double Lightning Shadow Ball!" **Shadow shot a ball of dark energy, and Sparks shot a ball of electric energy, which combined and struck both Machoke and Primeape. After the dust had cleared, the two were found knocked out on the ground.

"No way! What are you dude?!" the teen asked as he recalled his pokémon and ran off.

**"You better run wimp!" **Chase laughed. **"Give him a going away present, will you Sparks."** Sparks grinned as he sent a thundershock after the teen, which knocked him off his feet.

"I knew you couldn't hide forever Nogitsune," Leta said, confronting Chase. "Look, you even scared the kids," she said, pointing to JR and Missy.

Chase laughed nervously, as he regained control of himself. "Sorry that happened. Happened to quick for me to realize. But that was more fun than I thought!"

"What was that?" JR finally choked out.

"Nothing you need to worry about. All you need to know is that he is me, and he is on our side. So no questions," Chase said. "Come on, let's get back to getting to Cherrygrove. We might be able to make it before nightfall and get a room at the center," he said, starting to walk down the path. He motioned for Leta to come up to where he was walking. Quietly, "They can never know about who that was. Understand? Never."

"Okay," Leta said.

Behind Chase and Leta, JR and Missy were having their own little talk. "What the heck was that voice Chase used earlier?" Missy asked. "He acted totally different also. Is he bipolar or something?"

"I don't know, but I think we should try to find out," JR said. "But I totally agree with you that he definitely was not acting like Chase when he used that voice. But wait," JR said. "Nogitsune, she called him Nogitsune. Not Chase."

"Look! There's Cherrygrove up ahead!" Chase said, pointing up the path. He and Leta took off running. "LAST ONE THERE BUYS SUPPER!"

"NO FAIR! YOU GOT A HEAD START!" JR yelled after them, as he and Missy ran after them.

Xxxxxx

"Here are your pokemon. All fully healed!" Joy beamed.

"Thank you Joy. By the way, do you have any rooms available?" Chase asked.

"I'm sorry, all I have left are two rooms, each only having two twins," Joy said at the center.

"We'll take them then," Chase said.

"Ok, floor 2, rooms 5 and 6," Joy said.

"Thanks again," the group said, as they went over to the stairs.

After they found the rooms, they decided to get ready for bed and then sleep. "You two boys sleep in that room, and we girls will be in this room," Missy said.

"Miss me?" Leta asked Chase, pulling him into a hug.

"Already," he said laughing. He kissed her before letting her go into her room.

"Yuck, I can't believe I just saw that," JR said after Chase walked into the boys' room.

"Get used to it kid," Chase smirked.

In the girls' room, Missy was laughing like a little school girl. "You actually like him that much?!"

"Yeah," Leta said, blushing. She heard Missy squeal again.

Down in the lobby, Joy smirked evilly to herself. She then pulled off the mask and the Joy outfit that she was wearing to reveal a NTR uniform. The real Joy was knock unconscious back behind the counter. The NTR member pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. "The target is in the building. Phase one complete."

"Excellent. Proceed with Phase two. And be ready for a hasty exit," a voice said on the other side. The connection was then terminated.

"Yes Father," the NTR member smirked.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**That's it for the second chapter. Watch for the next chapter, as it will be pretty exciting. ****Hmm, when should I release chapter 3? (looks at calendar) Ahh yes, the perfect day for such a chapter will be then. Catch ya later, now review!**


	3. NTR Attacks

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase – 11 yrs ; Leta – 11 yrs ; JR – 10 yrs ; Missy – 10 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

_It's only 2:36 in the morning_, Chase thought to himself as he starred at the ceiling. He hadn't been able to sleep much since going to bed last night. Something just didn't feel right in his gut. _Maybe it was the beans that I ate_, he thought, trying to reason it out.

He got up and headed for the bathroom, but stopped when he heard a noise that was barely noticeable. He stopped for a second to figure it out. _Someone's knocking on the door._ When he got to the door, he waited to see if the noise would continue. Sure enough, it did. "Who is it?" he asked, after the knocking stopped.

"Do you know where I can find a 'Chase Nirvs'?" a feminine voice said from the other side of the door.

"Who's asking?" Chase asked suspiciously.

"Someone who has information on Neo Team Rocket," the feminine voice said. Chase froze. "Make sure that you read it Chase, and be where that note says." Chase stared at the envelope that had been pushed under the door. As he bent down to pick it up, he heard footsteps walking away from the door to the stairway.

Chase turned the envelope over and saw a neon green 'R' stamped on the front of it. _Might as well,_ he thought as he walked over to the night stand and turned on the light. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw JR turn over away from the light. He opened the envelope and found a single sheet of paper in it. It read:

"Chase – be at the big tree two miles north of Cherrygrove by 4am. Your presence and yours alone, is requested. All will be revealed soon."

Without thinking, Chase threw on some clothes, grabbed his poke balls, and ran out of the room, leaving the note on the stand. Even though he knew he was going to make it in time, he wanted to get all the answers.

Xxxxxx

JR heard the door slam shut and woke up enough to notice that Chase wasn't in his bed. _Oh well, he must be in the bathroom. Must have been those beans he ate._ Then he rolled back over and fell back asleep.

Xxxxxx

It was approaching 4am and Chase had already found the tree that he was supposed to be at. He ran his hands over the poke balls that hung on his belt, and saw Shadow hiding in a bush not too far away. Out from some bushes, he noticed two figures walking towards him. He saw that they both were wearing cloaks of some sort. He watched them carefully as they approached him.

"You Chase?" one figure asked, with a masculine voice. Chase kept his silence, but nodded his head. The man approached Chase as he asked, "You don't remember me, do you?" The man then removed his hood to reveal a face that Chase had only seen once before.

"FATHER?!" Chase yelped in surprise, taking a step back. "YOU CALLED YOURSELF MY FATHER!"

"That's right, my son," the man said, pleased that he was remembered.

"So then, why are you coming for me now? Why not after the boat sunk?" Chase asked nervously.

"Because the rules of the company didn't allow us to," the other figure said. This figure had a sweet feminine voice behind the dark hood. The figure removed the hood to reveal a young looking woman, around her mid 30's.

"And at the time, we weren't even suppose to have a kid of our own," the man said. "We tried to keep you a secret for the longest time, but after a while, somehow the truth got out and we were forced to give you up."

"And the best way for us to disappear was by accident," the woman said.

Chase couldn't believe what he was hearing. Here were his parents. They had sought him out, and were reaching out for him. Their faces looked like the faces that were on the photograph that he carried in his wallet. But he had sworn to destroy NTR whenever he was able to do so. But his very own parents were part of that organization. He fell to his knees as all the information seemed to hit him like a ton of bricks. _My parents are part of NTR. But I thought that NTR had killed my parents. But here they are. __NTR members._ He felt the anger boil inside of him. He got back up on his feet as he stared coldly at them. In a low voice, he said, "I would have been better off thinking you two were dead. Now you are forcing me to defeat you as well as that cursed NTR organization. How dare you do this to **ME****YOU NOT MY PARENTS ANYMORE!"**

"We only came because Master told us that he thought you'd be a great asset to the organization," the woman said.

Chase's eyes had grown full of rage at this point. He could feel Nogitsune trying to bust free, but was being held back by Chase's own will. But Chase allowed Nogitsune's voice to get through. "**How dare you come here, call me out like this, and ask me join you. I vow to ****destroy you, mother and father, your master, and his organization. You will not get any leniency from me at all when I do bring NTR down with my own hands. Watch me. I will DESTROY NTR for good." **Chase turned around and started to head back to the Center. _Now I know why I couldn't sleep. It was a set up.__ That 'Joy' was a decoy._

"I'm afraid we can't let you go," Father said.

Without even looking back, Chase said, "**And why not?**"

"Because, you ARE coming with us," Mother said in a firm tone.

"**You lost your right to tell me what to do the moment you said you were part of NTR,**" Chase said, as he turned around to stare back at his parents.

"That isn't your choice, son," Father said, snapping his fingers. Chase looked around him and saw that Busch, Mic, and Miller had closed off his escape to the rear.

_The only way out is to fight, _Chase thought, as he gave Shadow the signal. Within seconds, Busch, Mic, and Miller were on their faces from an explosion that was caused by a Shadow Ball from Shadow. He jumped over the bodies and started to run for the center.

Father pulled out a radio phone and spoke into it. "As planned, he is running back to the center. DO NOT let him get past you, Sam."

"Yes sir," a girl's voice said. Sam was watching Chase run from Father and she waited in the tree above the path for him. At the right moment, she released a net that caught both Chase and Shadow. ""Now this is going to hurt for a while kid," Sam said with a smirk, as she electrified the net.

While being electrified, Chase thought, _That__ voice! She was the 'Joy' decoy!_

"Good job, Sam. Now tie both of them up and throw both of them in the back of the truck. Our mission here is complete," Father said.

As Sam put Chase in the truck she said, "It's better to just join. Otherwise they are going to punish you into submission. Either way, welcome to the family brother."

Chase winced at Sam's words. _They've got me good this time. She's not going to know what to do. _All Chase could do was watch behind the truck and wish a way out. _I'm not through yet!_ Chase thought as he started to flair within the truck.

"Take care of him," Mother said.

Chase felt a heavy blow to the back of his head, and then his head plop onto the floor of the bed of the truck. Before he blacked out, he saw his hat lying on the ground where he was caught. _Leta._Then his world went black.

Xxxxxx

The sun's rays shone through the window at the center and shined on Leta's face. She smiled as she opened her eyes and looked out the window to a bright and sunny day. She got out of bed, got dressed, and went over to the boys' room. Knocking on the door lightly, she waited for the door to open. When no one answered she tried the door, and opened the door. On the night stand she saw a letter and an envelope. _He must have been writing a letter or something._ She looked around the room before walking over to JR. "Where's Chase?" she asked softly.

"He's in the bathroom I think," a sleepy JR moaned.

"Bathroom is empty," Leta said.

"Then he must have gone for a walk then," JR moaned.

Leta started to walk out of the room as her eyes fell on the letter again. _I'm sure he wouldn't mind,_ she thought as she picked up the letter. She gasped as she read it. She picked up the envelope and saw a neon green 'R' on the front. _That's the NTR insignia. _"WAKE UP PEOPLE! WE'RE GOING TO GO FIND CHASE!" she yelled as she stomped out of the boys' room. _NO ONE STEALS HIM FROM ME. NO ONE!_

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Chase could feel the pain in the back of his head as he came to. He slowly opened his eyes and saw nothing but black. It took a while for his eyes to adjust to the darkness that he was set in. He tried to move but felt something restraining his arms and legs to something. That something was a metal chair in the middle of a large room.

Suddenly, six bright spotlights turned on from above. But none of them were pointing at him. Rather, they were pointing to six bodies lying on the floor in front of him. Each and every body looked like it had been beaten to a pulp. He could recognize each one. _Fox, Sunny, Blaze, __Aquis__, Sparks, Shadow. What happened?_

"Well, you've finally decided to wake up," a dark voice spoke from the shadows. Chase looked around, not finding the source. "As you see, your worthless pokémon are lying in front of you, badly hurt."

Chase gave up looking for the source. "Why did you do that to them? What did they do?"

"To show how weak you are. And how much stronger you could be," the voice said, as the remaining lights turned on, revealing the source of the sound, and six more powerful looking pokémon. "I am the master of Neo Team Rocket. You've defeated a few of my men on a couple occasions. That takes strength. Strength that would be put to good use in my organization."

"I won't join you. I vowed to destroy you. And I will," Chase said through gritted teeth as he pulled against his restraints.

"You pokémon are all out cold. And with a snap of my finger, I can have MY pokémon beat the rest of them into oblivion. So, either join us, or say goodbye to them," the man said. "I'll give you to sundown to think it over." The man gets out of his chair and leaves, along with his pokémon.

Chase thought, _How__ can I tell time? When do I know its sundown? I…_

The door opened again. Chase heard some footsteps approach from behind. He felt as the restraints were removed from the chair, but then reattached to another chain. He turned his head to see who it was. He only sighed inwardly as he realized who it was.

"Miss me brat?" Mic asked, as he dragged Chase out of the room. In a few minutes, he was dragged out onto the deck of a large boat.

"I changed my mind about waiting until sundown," the man from before said. He turned to face the side of the boat and watched as a net was lifted from a hold from below. Chase looked at the net. In it were his pokémon. He watched terrified as the net swung over the edge and over the ocean. "Join now, or watch your pokémon sink to the bottom of the sea." Chase stared in disbelief. "Time is running out," the man said as he slowly started to lower the net into the water.

_**You must do it, to save them and yourself**_, Nogitsune said to Chase.

The net was almost into the water before Chase realized what he had to do. Disheartened, Chase said, "Fine, I'll join you. Just give me my pokémon back."

"Good decision my boy," the man said, as he brought the pokémon back onto the boat.

"One condition, I only answer to you," Chase said.

"Fine," the man said, walking away. As soon as he got back inside the ship, he called over a grunt. "Take him, and his pokémon, to the research room and perform Operation Brainwash." The grunt nodded his head and moved on to do as he was told. _Welcome to the fold, kid. You will soon find out why I was the leader of Team Rocket, until that _kid_ ruined it for me._

X A FEW DAYS LATER X

Adam and Megan showed up in front of the center and walked inside. There they met JR and Missy, who told them everything that had happened. Adam then went up to the room that Leta had been hiding in since the day before.

"Leta?" Adam called, as he opened the door. He could see a figure sitting in a chair in the far corner in the dark. "Leta, you alright?"

"He's gone," Leta sobbed. "They can't find anything, they gave up the search. How could they?"

Adam noticed the hat lying on the bed. He picked it up and kind of played with it for a moment. Leta saw him playing with Chase's hat, and she got up and snatched it out of his hands. As she did so, a piece of paper came falling out of the inside of the hat that went unnoticed by her, but not Adam. He picked it up and read it.

_If you__'__r__e__ reading this, NTR __must have caught me. __I know you'll try to find me. Just know that I love you. And I always will. __I'm f__orever yours, Chase._

"Leta, read this," Adam said softly, handing her the note. After a few minutes, he watched her get up, and put on Chase's cowboy hat. "What are you going to do?"

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she said as she walked to the door, "What does it look like I'm going to do? I'm going to find him myself!" Leta walked out of the center to begin her search, unaware that she was being watched.

Not far away, a young girl who was wearing a dark blue mask which covered her eyes was watching her closely from behind a tree. "You can look all you want but you won't be able to find him" she whispered, as she turned around and walked away.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Kind of anti-****valentinic****aint**** it?**** But the ending is pretty sweet I think! **

**Now, tell me what you think. I appreciate the reviews a lot. Just be honest with me. I take any advice and use it if I can.**

**But thanks for reading! And have a Happy Valentine's Day! ****Or as I like to call it, Single****s**** Awareness Day.****LOL!**


	4. New NTR Member Spotted

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs ; Leta – 20 yrs ; Adam – 23 yrs ; Megan – 22 yrs

??? – 18 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

"All I'm saying is, that it's been what, 9 years?" a young man asked.

"For your information, it's been 10 years," a younger girl said. The girl took a drink from her cup and continued to scan a newspaper looking for something to catch her attention.

"Fine. 10 years. You haven't found him yet. And as unfortunate as this may sound, you may never find him," the man said.

"Leave her be Adam," another girl said. "She's been looking this long, she isn't going to quit just yet."

"But Megan, her search has lead her nowhere," Adam said. "Mom and Dad are expecting you to eventually marry. Even if they have to force you into marriage. So, you need to stop searching for him, and find someone soon that you can live with before they find someone that you won't stand for, Leta."

Leta took another drink from her cup. "I'm not going home until I find him. And since I'm not going home anytime soon, I don't have to worry about them forcing me into a marriage." She turned the page of the newspaper and saw a huge 'R' in the middle of the page. _That's their sign!_ She read the article beside the letter and gasped.

"What?" both Adam and Megan asked.

Leta started to read from the article. "A cloaked Neo Team Rocket member has been spotted in the Eterna Forest area! Witnesses claim that the cloaked figure was training his Eevee around a huge moss covered rock. After defeating a rookie trainer, the Eevee evolved into a Leafeon. Satisfied, the cloaked figure left the forest and wasn't able to be followed." She looked back up her brother with a gleam in her eye. "And you said I'd never find him."

"How do you know that's actually him?" Adam asked, skeptically.

Leta turned the article to show Adam. There were several pictures on the page of the article. One picture showed the cloaked figure behind an Eevee while battling. Another showed the figure with a newly evolved Leafeon. And a third photo got a real close up of the figure. Although the face was hidden by the cloak, it wasn't the face that Leta pointed to. "I gave that pendant to Chase as a Christmas present 10 years ago. Is that plenty proof for you?"

"I do have to say," Megan said, "that is pretty coincidental. It might actually be him"

"Now, where is this Eterna Forest?" Leta looked around for a local. "Excuse me sir," she asked a man walking by, "would you know how to get to Eterna Forest?"

"Sure would. It is just west of Eterna City," the man said.

Leta tuned back to the table that she was sharing with Adam and his wife. She pulled a map out of her back pack and opened it up. "Let's see. We're here in Sunyshore. And Eterna is all the way over there." She jumped up and put the map back in her bag. "This is the first hopeful lead I've had all these years!" she said excitedly. "I hate to eat and run, but I got to go! BYE!" she yelled as she put on Chase's old cowboy hat and ran off.

"She didn't even leave any money to cover her meal," Adam moaned as he looked in his wallet. He realized that he didn't have enough money to cover for all of them. As he pulled out his credit card, he mumbled, "She sure is costing me a lot."

"Don't worry about her," Megan said. "If that truly was Chase, then her search should be over here soon. Then your Mom and Dad can finally relax about her."

"I hope so," Adam said, as he handed his card to the waiter.

Xxxxxx

A cloaked figure walked into a building just outside of Veilstone City. As he pulled up a chair to a table, a newspaper was slammed in front of him. On the opened page was a huge 'R'. "I see they got my good side," the figure chuckled.

"This is no laughing matter Chase. We are under cover until Mother and Father tell us to start with the plan. And how can we be undercover if you go out and get caught?" a masked figure asked Chase.

Chase read the article. "Well, the good news is that they didn't get a chance to catch me. And they don't know where we are hiding. So, I don't see the problem."

"The problem is..." the masked figure started, but was interrupted by a phone ringing. The only people who knew the number to that phone were Mother, Father, and Master.

"Well, go ahead. Answer the phone," Chase said laughing.

The masked figure picked up the phone and answered the call. Mask didn't even have a chance to say 'hi' when a voice yelled out.

"PUT HIM ON THE LINE NOW!" the voice growled.

Chase grabbed the phone from the masked figure. "Yello!"

On the other end, a voice growled lowly. "What do you think you are doing? Are you trying to get our cover blown this early in the operation?"

Chase got agitated. "First of all, I follow my own rules. I do your bidding all because you are paying me. But when I'm not doing a job, I will do what I want, when I want. And what I did was for me. I will finish my personal agenda. Secondly, all they say was that a NTR member was spotted. They didn't even say that they feared an operation was going on here."

"Remember kid, I am your master. You will do what I want you to do," Master growled. Then he slammed the phone down.

"That's what I was worried about Chase," the masked figure said.

Chase starred at the phone for a while. _Who does he think he is? He may be my Master, but he can't tell me what to do in my off time. But he knows he can't get rid of me. No. I may cause him some trouble here and there, but I get the job done. And we come out with way more than usually expected. _"Mother and Father trust me, why can't he?" he asked the masked figure.

"He's the leader, he has to be picky about who can trust. Heck, I think Mother and Father are the only ones he really trusts. So, while we wait for his next command, what should we do?" the masked figure asked.

"Anything but try to figure out my past. No one knows anything beyond 10 years ago. So don't even try," Chase said, as he leaned his body up against the wall, pulling out the pendant that hung around his neck, looking out the window. _Why can't I remember anything beyond then__? But then again, why do I have this urge to find more Eevees? _He starred at the pendant. _WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER?!_

Xxxxxx

Master slammed the phone down on the desk. _That kid is testing my nerves. But I cant get rid of him. He is one of my best agents in the field. The best. But he needs to learn to keep his cover!_

"Well, at least no one found out his identity," Mother said.

Father was starring at the photos. "True, his face is pretty well covered. But that pendant in the picture," he said pointing to the pendant, "might be recognized by someone if it was of any importance."

"Keep an eye on him," Master growled. "He may be your son, but I will _cut_ him loose if he causes me any trouble. Leave."

After leaving Master's office, Father said, "Chase needs to settle down for a while."

"I agree," Mother said. "Perhaps he can do his own thing while not wearing that cloak. So that no one will recognize us."

"Good idea. Call him and let them know," Father said.

Xxxxxx

**Okay, the ten years have passed. And now Chase is working for NTR! WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?! I know! You need to read to find out!**


	5. A New Ranger

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs ; Leta – 20 yrs

?? – 18 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Chase was staring at the clock. He hadn't been sleeping well since he had acquired the Leafeon a while ago in the Eterna Forest. He turned his attention to the shadow balls that he had laid on the table. These balls were his own creation, they weren't able to be tracked like regular poke balls , or transported away after you had caught your seventh pokémon. No, he could have a team of infinite number and power. But for all the powerful pokémon that Neo Team Rocket had, he preferred to use Eevees. _Why do I have this urge to find more eeveelutions? I heard rumors about a leaf Eevee, and found one. Now there's a rumor of an ice Eevee. I must find out how to get it._ He laid down on the bed in the hideout that he and Mask were assigned. He was just about to fall asleep when he thought he heard a voice call out.

A whispered voice said, "You're not who you think you are."

Chase jumped out of his bed. "Who's that?" he demanded. He flipped on the light in the one roomed shack. Mask was sleeping in the far corner of the room.

"You are not who you think you are," the voice whispered came again. 

Chase swore that it came from the window that had been left cracked open. He walked over to the window and opened it up. Sticking his head out, he looked around the area hoping to see a person whispering. With no luck, he pulled his head back in and pulled the window closed. But in the reflection of the window, he saw something. Instead of seeing his own reflection, he saw a face of a fox. 

"WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?!" Chase yelled, pointing at the window, slowly backing away from it. This time, the voice didn't return. Instead, the reflection seemed to come out of the window. Soon, Chase was seeing a _thing_ about his size, with the face, fur, and tail of a fox. But the _thing_ was human shaped and had human arms and hands.

"Why," the _thing_ replied, "I am YOU!"

Chase sat straight up in his bed. He looked around and saw that the clock said 5 o'clock in the morning. _It was a dream,_ he thought as he got out of bed. He saw his shadow balls on the table beside the bed. _Or was it?_

Xxxxxx

"Chase hurry up! Mother and Father are going to be calling any time now to assign us the assignment that Master has decided for us to do." Mask was standing beside the phone waiting for the call to come in. After trying to get Chase to come over from the far window, Mask could see that Chase was intently staring outside the window.

"I'll come when the call comes in," Chase said sternly. He continued to star at the window. _I am not who I think I am? And that fox thing was me? No more soda for me before I go to sleep._ Chase finally shrugged the dream off and went over to the phone. As if on cue, the phone rang. "Well, answer it Mask."

"Agent Mask and Agent Chase are here," Mask said into the phone.

"Good," Mother's voice came over the phone. "Now put it on speaker." Mask did as commanded. "I hope that you two have rested plenty, because your next mission is going to be the hardest that you two have ever faced in all of Neo Team Rocket history."

Father's voice came over the speaker. "Your mission is to collect the Three Beings. They live in each lake in the Sinnoh Region. We need you to collect all Three Beings; Uxie, Mespirit, and Azelf. Then we can continue our grand plan. Your best bet is to use the Master Shadow ball that you helped to create Chase. Any questions?"

"How long do we have?" Chase asked.

"We need those pokémon in three months, before the summer solstice. Which is the prime time to summon two more powerful pokémon," Master's voice boomed over the speaker. "Screw this up, and you'll pay dearly." The connection was terminated.

"Three Beings? Looks like we're going to make a visit to the library," Chase said, grabbing his things.

"You know we can't just walk into a library like normal," Mask tried to point out.

"If by normal you mean by in uniform, then you're right. But 'normal' means like normal people. So, we are going to the library _without_ the uniform," Chase said, as he stuffed his uniform into his bag.

"You can only go then," Mask said.

Chase looked over a little confused. Then it hit him. "Oh yeah, the mask. Do you ever take that thing off? I bet it smells under that."

"Only to shower," Mask replied.

"Fine. I'll be back in a few hours. Be ready to leave then," Chase said, as he walked out of the safe house.

Xxxxxx

After spending the morning in the library, and looking in some very old, ancient looking books, Chase believed that he had an understanding of the Three Beings that he was assigned to capture. Well, he didn't quite understand it, but he knew he would soon. Since he had taking any books that even mentioned the Three Beings and walked out of the library. As he exited the library, the buzzer rang. You know the ones, the ones that alert a robbery. And as the alarm went off, Chase ran off, without even looking back, smirking. _They will be mine soon enough!_

"Hey you come back here!" a boy's voice yelled after Chase. Chase glanced over his shoulder real quick to see something that all NTR members hated. A Pokémon Ranger. "You bring those books back you thief!" 

_Never,_ Chase thought, as he tried to duck around a corner to evade the ranger. But the ranger stayed on his trail.

"I GOT CHA!" the ranger yelled, as he jumped onto Chase's back, knocking him to the ground. Chase fell, and his bag spilled open. He watched as his NTR cloak rolled out of the bag and unfurled, revealing the green 'R'. "NO WAY! A NTR MEMBER!" the ranger yelled.

"Yeah, you got a problem with me?" Chase asked as he pushed himself back on his feet and dusted his body off. He put on his cloak and eyed the ranger. 

"Actually, I've been waiting for you, rocket," the ranger said, cracking his knuckles. "And with those books that you stole, I can only figure that you're going after the Three Beings."

"My you're a smart ranger. So you're going to try to stop me then?" Chase smirked. He pulled out a shadow ball of his belt. "So, you ready for a battle?"

"The question is, rocket, are you ready for a battle?" a girl's voice said from behind Chase. The girl watched as Chase turned to see her. "Well, are you?"

"I'll be with you in a minute girl. This ranger was first," Chase said. He turned his attention to the ranger again. He raised his shadow ball to eye level. "Ready?" Chase released his Espeon. The ranger released an Ivysaur. 

"Ivysaur, razor leaf!" the ranger called out.

"Flash Sunny," Chase said calmy.

A bright flash of light blinded the area as the razor sharp leaves closed in on the Espeon. By the time the light faded, Chase and the Espeon were gone. And so were the books.

"DRATS!" the ranger yelled, slamming his fist into the concrete ground. "I almost had him."

_Sunny?! That Espeon's name was Sunny?! Chase had one named just that!_ the girl thought. She pulled the hat down over her eyes. _Where'd he go?_ She looked up to see the ranger walking away. "Hey wait up!" she called out. 

The ranger stopped and looked back. "What?" he asked calmly.

"Are you fighting NTR?" the girl asked.

"Yes and so are the rest of the rangers. We believe that they are going after the Three Beings and may also be after something far more powerful. I'm sorry, what was your name?" the ranger asked.

"The name's Masters, Leta Masters. And I too am after NTR, but for a different reason. Ten years ago the kidnapped my friend, and I vowed to find him no matter what." Leta said.

"Nice to meet you Leta. My name is Kenny. Why don't you join with us and help fight them with us?" Kenny offered. 

"Do you know where NTR is going to strike next?" Leta asked, thinking about the offer. 

"According to legend, the Three Beings each lived in one of the three lakes of Sinnoh. The closest lake is Verity Lake. So I believe that's where our friend will be going to first." Kenny pulled out a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number. "Hey boss, I think NTR is heading for Verity Lake. And also, I think we have a new recruit."

"A new recruit?" the boss said over the phone. "What's the boy's name?"

"Here, introduce yourself to the boss man of the Pokémon Rangers," Kenny said, handing the phone to Leta.

"The name's Leta Masters," Leta said into the phone smiling to herself. _I'm closer than ever at finding you Chase._

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Okay, so what did ya'll think? Good? Bad? Let me know!**

**Sorry for the long wait. I ran into the old brick wall again. Hehehe. But now that I have an idea of where to go, hopefully I can turn out another chapter sooner.**

**You read it. Now review it. Later, Chase/Nogitsune.**


	6. Mesprit

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs ; Leta – 20 yrs ; Kenny – 21 yrs

Mask – 18 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

The sun was still below the horizon, and the moon was just starting to disappear from the morning sky. Chase and Mask had traveled by foot to Lake Verity for the last two days. And for those two nights, Chase hadn't been able to get any sleep because of the voice that he thought he was hearing. He found himself often yelling at this voice. And this was making Mask a little nervous around him. So he learned to keep the yelling inside of him, since he was sure that she wasn't hearing the voice anyways.

Suddenly, a pokéball opened and a red ringed Umbreon appeared. 'What are you doing still awake?'

"I can't sleep," Chase answered calmly, watching the moon fall.

'Why not?' the Umbreon asked.

"It all started when we acquired that Leafeon. I started to have problems sleeping, and now I can't sleep at all. And above it all, I think I'm starting to hear voices Shadow," Chase said, trembling slightly.

'I did notice that you were starting to act strange when Blade evolved. But a voice? What kind of voice?' Shadow asked.

"It's a voice that seems familiar, yet I can't remember who or what it is," Chase said, looking at Shadow.

'What does this 'voice' tell you when you hear it?' Shadow asked.

"At first, it said "You are not who you think you are,". Then on another occasion, it said, "She is still looking for you,". Actually, that happened right after I ran into that Ranger and girl back in that town." Chase stopped talking and tried to think back to that day.

'Did the girl look familiar at all?' Shadow asked after some time passed.

"That's the odd thing. I can't say for sure. You know best of all, Shadow, that my memory of anything back beyond when I joined Neo Team Rocket when I was around ten is all a blur. I can't remember anything. I just know my training from NTR and up to this point," Chase said.

"Maybe you should seek her out,' Shadow suggested. 'Who knows, maybe that voice knows something that you don't.'

"The voice just comes in at odd times. It only says a phrase, then it's gone. Except for that dream…" Chase said, remembering.

'You never mentioned a dream,' Shadow said. 'Tell me.'

"I remember that I was sleeping until I heard a voice say something. Then I thought I heard it from the window. When I looked out the window, instead of seeing my reflection in the glass, I saw a face similar to that of an Eevee. As I backed away from the glass, the reflection came out of the glass, and a body appeared. It was more human than anything. But it was covered in fur, a tail, and face that of an Eevee. Then it said something that got me to snap awake. "I am you." " Chase cringed at that part.

"That's an odd dream," a voice from behind Chase and Shadow said. Both of them turned to see that Mask had woken up and had been listening to them. "So that's what you've been yelling at lately? A voice in your head?" Mask asked Chase.

Chase looked back over the lake. "Yeah, a voice that seems oddly enough familiar to me, but I don't know from where."

"Maybe it's from before you joined NTR," Mask tried to reason.

"Maybe," Chase sighed. He continued to stare over the lake and the sun started to rise into the sky. Chase stood, and said, "Today, we raid the island at the center of Lake Verity and take the being know as Mesprit."

Xxxxxx

"Are you sure he's going to be here?" a girl in a Ranger uniform asked.

"If he was truly after the three beings, he'd have to come by this island sooner or later," a slightly older boy said. "And since this was the closer resting place of one of the beings, it makes sense to come here first. Does it not, Leta?"

"I guess so Kenny," Leta said. She and Kenny waited just inside of the cave entrance of the Lake Verity Island. _Soon, I will find you Chase. I promise._

Xxxxxx

Chase rowed the boat quickly over to the island and both he and Mask jumped out as soon as they landed on the island. Chase started to remember some of the things that he had read up on about this being known as Mesprit. "It was written that this being known as Mesprit is referred to as "The Being of Emotion". It taught humans to sense emotion such as the pain of sorrow and the value of joy. If a human touches it, three days after the touch, the person will lose their emotions."

"So, let's not touch this pokémon. Let's just capture it," Mask said. As they entered the cave, the noticed how dark it was, so Chase lit a flare out of his bag. Up ahead, they saw the body of Mesprit. "It's so small. This is the Mesprit?"

Chase pulled out his book, the book he stole from the library, and turned to a page that had an ancient picture of the creature. He carefully examined the book and the pokémon ahead of them. "Yes, that is Mesprit," he said quietly. Chase pulled out a shadow master ball that he had helped create for this opportunity. _This is almost too easy_.

"Hold it right there Rocket!" a young man's voice called out. Suddenly, a large spotlight lit up the cave, and was aimed right at Chase and Mask. "You aren't capturing Mesprit today. And you never are going to."

"It's you!" Chase yelled. "You're the Ranger from the Eterna library!"

"Glad you remembered me kid," the Ranger laughed. "By the way, I didn't catch your name the last time we met. Mine's Kenny, what's your's?"

"You can call me Rocket," Chase replied. "No Ranger deserves to know my name."

"Ok, fair enough," Kenny said, glancing over to mask. "And who are you?"

"The name is Mask," Mask said, taking a position next to Chase's side. "Who's your girlfriend Kenny?"

"First of all, I'M NOT HIS GIRLFRIEND! And my name is Leta Masters," Leta responded angrily.

Chase focused on Leta for a second. _Why does that name sound so familiar? _"You take care of the two Rangers, Mask. I'm going after Mesprit." Chase turned around and went farther into the cave to find the pokémon being.

"NOT IF I WON'T LET YOU!" Kenny yelled as he chased after Chase into the cave.

"Now, Mask. You are left to deal with me. Dratini, GO!" Leta released her Dratini. It was the same pink Dratini that Chase had giving to her ten years ago on that Christmas day.

_A pink one?! _"Fine then. A battle you want? A battle you get! THUNGER GO!" Mask said, as she released her Raichu.

Xxxxxx

Chase ran down the through the cave trying to find the pokémon Mesprit was sleeping. He slowed to a walk as he carefully approached the being. _Like stealing candy from a baby, _he thought as he pulled out a shadow ball. _In a second, you'll be NTR's._ He threw the ball, and captured the sleeping Mesprit.

"NO! I'm too late!" Kenny yelled as he entered the room.

"That's right, loser Ranger," Chase said, as he stowed the shadow ball into his bag. "And now, if you'll excuse me, I have some other business to take care of."

"You're not going anywhere thief," Kenny said, as he blocked the only escape to the room. "You'll have to go through me to get out."

"Didn't we do this once before?" Chase asked, grabbing a shadow ball of his belt.

"The only difference is that you're not getting away this time, Rocket!" Kenny said, grabbing a poke ball himself. Both trainers released their pokémon. "TY, GO!" Kenny released a Typhlosion.

"Blaze!" Chase released his Flareon. The battle between the rocket and the ranger went on for at least a half hour, and neither pokémon were willing to admit defeat, nor were their masters. The battle raged for a while longer until Kenny fell flat on his face. Behind him, stood Mask.

"Are you done playing with the Ranger yet?" Mask asked.

"Aww, things were just getting fun too," Chase laughed. "You took care of that Leta girl?"

"Of course," Mask said, smiling under the mask. Then Mask and Chase started to run out of the cave and onto their next part of the mission.

Right as they were exiting the cave, Chase's foot caught on something and he fell flat on his face. As he landed, the pendant that he was wearing came out from under his cloak and fell to the ground.

Turning back, Mask asked, "Chase, you alright?"

"Yeah, my foot got snagged on some…" Chase stopped short, seeing what had caused him to trip. _Her!_ It was the Leta girl. He watched her shift her focus between him and the pendant that now was laying on the ground.

_She called him Chase? _Leta asked herself while looking at him. Then she looked to the pendant. _I gave that to him, why would he have it? Unless…_ Then it hit her. This Chase, the one that was on NTR, was the same Chase that she was searching for. Chase shook his foot free of her grasp, picked up the pendant, and started to run off with Mask. _But why would he join them?_

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**So, there you have it. Phase one of the mission is complete. A little too easy? Yeah, I couldn't think of anything. But I hope to have the next chapter up soon, with a little more action, battle wise.**

**You know what time it is?! REVIEW TIME! Tell me what you think, and I'll greatly appreciate it. Until next time, dear readers.**

**Chase/Nogitsune**


	7. Dreams from the Past

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs ; Leta – 20 yrs ; Kenny – 21 yrs

Mask – 18 yrs (if you haven't noticed by now...)

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Late one night, a Pokémon Center Joy watched as two hooded cloaked figures walked into the center. One of the cloaked figures walked up to the counter as the other hung back a bit from the counter. The figure that had approached the counter removed his hooded to reveal a very tired face that looked like it hadn't seen sleep in quite a few days.

"Welcome to Hearthome City. Is there anything I can help you with?" Joy asked the stranger.

The figure stared at her for a moment before replying. "Do you have any rooms still available?"

_These cloaks look familiar, but why?_ "I have only one left. It only has a twin bed though. Is that alright?" Joy asked, trying to figure out why the cloaks looked familiar.

"We'll take it," the figure said, taking the key from Joy. _Room 406. _He tossed the key to his partner. Talking to his partner, he said, "I'll be back soon. Just going to go take a walk before I return tonight." And with that, he walked out of the center.

"Fine. Don't stay out too late," the hooded figure said to his back. She just watched as he looked over his shoulder at his partner and just nod. After he left the center, the second figure made it's way to the elevator and went up to the room they had gotten for the night. Unlocking the door, _Has that voice been keeping him from sleeping lately as well as driving him crazy during the day as well? He needs sleep before we locate our next target._

Out in the streets, the stranger walked along the sidewalk. Like many nights prior, a pokémon appeared from its pokéball on its master's belt. 'Ahh, another late night stroll right?' the pokemon asked.

"Right you are Shadow," the stranger said. "I still can't sleep, so I need to do something to occupy my time with, right?"

'Yeah, I guess so Chase. But you really should try to get some sleep. You look like death walking,' Shadow said. Shadow had been watching his master grow from being an energetic cocky 

master, to an advertisement for death. His skin was starting to turn pale, and the circles under his eyes were very noticeable. Then an idea struck Shadow. 'Why don't we have Sunny hypnotize you to you sleep?! Would that work?'

"Possibly. But what about that fox-thing in my head? It'll appear in a dream, and then the sleep won't be peaceful at all," Chase said, liking the idea of getting even a moment of sleep.

'I wonder if Sunny can block him out of your dream,' Shadow thought aloud.

"We'll never know until we try, right," Chase said more than asked. And then he turned on his heel to return to the center.

Xxxxxx

In a room a floor below that of Chase and his partner's, room 306 to be exact, Leta and Kenny were both planning for the next day. Leta just seemed to agree to everything that Kenny was saying while her mind drifted to another place and time. For the past day, she kept trying to figure out if the person she saw back at Lake Verity was the same Chase that she knew years ago. _It couldn't be. He hated them. But he had the pendant that I gave Chase._ She was so deep in thought, that she didn't notice Kenny stop talking and just stare at her. Kenny cleared his throat rather loudly, and that snapped Leta back to her senses.

"What are you thinking about?" Kenny asked.

"Remember that kid I told you about?" Leta asked Kenny. He nodded. "His name was Chase. He was also kind of my boyfriend. I met him when my brother went to Kanto last year. I started my journey in Kanto, thinking it would be best to start with someone I could trust. But shortly after starting in Kanto, we ran into Chase. And over our travels through Kanto, I grew to like him."

"So, why is that distracting you now?" Kenny asked, concerned.

Leta drew in a breath. "Because, his parents were killed by Neo Team Rocket. He vowed to get revenge. But about ten years ago, he was kidnapped from me, never to be seen. Until recently. That boy, Rocket, he called himself, I believe is Chase. He has Eevee forms, and names that are exactly like Chase's. And he has the pendant that I gave Chase as a Christmas present back then. And that masked figure even called him Chase. And I've spent since he was kidnapped searching for him. I just can't accept that that is my Chase."

"I see," Kenny said, leaning back into his seat. He closed his eyes, as if he were trying to think hard. "Well, when we catch and arrest him, he will be thrown in jail. Whether or not he remembers you. Being a NTR member has pretty much condemned him already."

Leta stood up from her chair. "I need to make a phone call."

Xxxxxx

When Chase entered the room, he looked over to the bed and saw that Mask had already claimed the bed. _What a surprise,_ he thought with a sigh. He sat down on the couch and released his Espeon. "Think you could do me a favor?" he asked the Espeon while petting it on the head.

"On?" the Espeon cocked it's head to the side in confusion.

"Think you could put me to sleep?" Chase asked. The Espeon looked at it's master in the eyes before nodding it's head yes. "Thanks, Sunny. I really need the sleep."

Chase lay down on the couch as Sunny's eyes began glowing putting Chase into a deep sleep.

Xxxxxx

_Please pick up…_ Leta thought as she heard the phone ring what seemed like forever. Just as she was about to hang up, she heard the other side pick up.

"…Hello," a sleepy voice said from the other side.

"I think I've finally found him!" Leta said into the phone. She heard silence for a few seconds.

"…Found who?" the voice asked.

"Chase!" Leta yelled into the phone, realizing that she might have just woken up Misty back at her gym.

Now totally awake, Misty was all ears on the phone. "You found him? So that means I get to see my little bro again soon, right?!"

This time, Leta was hesitant to say something. "I'm not sure Misty."

"What do you mean, 'not sure'?" Misty asked.

"You've heard of NTR, right?" Leta asked, hearing a small 'uh huh' from the other side. "Well, I think he's now part of them." She heard a thud through the phone. "Misty, you okay?" She listened closely as she heard another voice in the background enter.

"Hey, who's this?" a boy's voice came on.

"It's me, Leta," she responded.

"Ok, well Misty just passed out on the floor. What did you tell her?" he asked.

"Gary, all that I told her was that I found Chase, but I think he's part of NTR," Leta said again, not quite really believing what she was saying.

"Hold onto that thought while I go put Mist back into her bed, be right back," Gary said as he laid the phone down on the counter to go carry Misty back to her room. He returned a few minutes later. "Part of NTR, how's that?"

Leta cleared her throat as she started, "Well, there was a newspaper article not too long ago that had a NTR member who had an Eevee, and also a pendant that looked oddly enough like mine. And then when I caught up to him, I tripped him as he was leaving the island in the middle of the Lake Verity. As he fell, that pendant that looked like the one I gave to Chase fell off and it was the same one! And as he fell, the person he was with even called him 'Chase'."

"So if this is the same Chase, then how do you plan on rescuing him?" Gary asked.

"I can't. If he's part of NTR, then he has to be arrested and tried for his crimes," Leta said.

"Your speaking as though you're a …" Gary started to say before being cut off.

"A Pokémon Ranger?" Leta finished for him.

"Yeah. You really went all out to find him," Gary said, as he whistled in his amazement to her commitment. _I often wondered when she was going to give up. I guess never. Until death._ A chill ran down his spine at the thought. _And Mist won't marry me until Chase is found._ "What is there next target you think?"

"We believe he's heading to Lake Valor, which is north east of Pastoria City. He's going to capture the next Being called Azelf. What are you planning?" Leta asked.

"How long to you get to Pastoria?" Gary asked flatly.

"We'll be there in a day. What are you planning?" Leta asked again.

"I'll meet you there then," Gary said as he hung up the phone.

"Uh, bye then," Leta said, hanging the phone up. _Guess any help is good help._

Xxxxxx

_I need to call Ash and get him to help as well. Mr. Pokémon Master should want to stop to stop Giovanni again, _Gary thought as he dialed the number for Ash's house. After a few rings, the phone picked up. "Yo Ash! I got a proposition for ya."

"Yeah, what is it Gary?" Ash asked, interested.

"How would you like to defeat Giovanni, _again?_" Gary asked.

"When you say 'again', you mean he's back?" Ash asked.

"Yes," Gary said flatly. Gary could hear Ash slam his fists into the wall.

"I thought I took care of him. Fine. Let's do this, _again_," Ash said.

Xxxxxx

Mask woke up hearing Chase gasping on the couch. Looking to the clock to see that it was shortly after 3 in the morning. Mask walked over to him to go and wake him, but was about to tap him on his shoulder when he jolted straight up.

He had a bewildered look on his face, and was completely covered in sweat. He turned his head around wildly trying to get a focus on anything. He was mumbling something, but too low for anyone to hear clearly.

"You okay, Chase?" Mask asked, concerned about his actions.

Chase stood up, and his mumbling became clearer. He took a step towards the center of the room while still looking wildly about the room. "Where are you, you, you…" Chase collapsed on the ground.

"Um, Chase, can you hear me?" Mask asked. He turned his head to stare back with unfocused glazed over eyes. "Who are you trying to talk to?"

Chase turned his head again to find something. "Nogitsune, where are you? Why? Why are you doing this to me?"

Then a voice Mask never heard before spoke from Chase's body. "**Because what you are doing is wrong. Can't you and Mask see that? Can't you see that your 'Master' is evil?**"

"What are you talking about? Master just wants to protect the pokémon. And by catching them, we can provide the most protection that is needed. Can't you see that, Nogitsune?" Chase countered.

"**What I see is that you've lost your mind**," Nogitsune said.

While Chase was having his conflict, Mask was dialing a number hoping that they were awake. As soon as the phone picked up, Mask blurted, "CHASE IS HAVING A BREAKDOWN!"

"What did you say?" a woman's voice asked.

"He's having a breakdown. He's talking to something called Nogitsu…" Mask started, but got cut off.

"He needs attention quickly. Take him to the roof of the building. We're sending a chopper out to pick him up" the woman said as she hung up the phone.

"Yes mother," Mask said, as she put the phone back on the receiver.

Xxxxxx

As the helicopter took off from the top of the building, the two figures on the roof watched as it left their view. Mask looked at the partner she had been given as Chase's temporary replacement. _He's way too young to be on a mission like this. And it just won't be the same I think._ "We leave before dawn. So get your sleep now Brain." Before closing the door to the roof, Mask looked back to where the helicopter had disappeared to. _I hope he'll be alright._ Then Mask went back to the room to get the last hours they had before the dawn would come, with Brian following closely behind.

Xxxxxx

After the doctors had gotten a chance to look over Chase, they gave their report to Father and Mother, who looked over it like worried parents. Well, they had good reason to. After all, Chase was their only son. Before the doctors were able to look him over, he had taken a few of them out before being sedated.

"Did you recognize that dark voice he used earlier before he was sedated?" Father asked.

"I did. I think the brainwashing ten years ago is wearing off now. Either that or that exorcist didn't do the job completely. He might have just sealed that Nogitsune within Chase until it could get pass the seal," Mother said with a sigh.

"What do we tell Master now?" Father asked looking over the report.

"Well, he's the one. We can't let Master know that Nogitsune is still around. So the best way would be to say that the brainwashing isn't permanent and that it wore off over time. And with it having worn off, all the suppressed memories are all bubbling to the surface and that caused a mental overload," Mother said calmly.

"And the Rangers? What do we tell them?" Father whispered.

"That the turn that they have been waiting for is about to happen. That their strongest enemy is about to become their strongest ally," Mother said. Then both Mother and Father left the medical room to give their report to Master.

When Mother and Father turned down a hall, a pair of shadows from down the hall emerged from the darkness. One shadow pulled out a radio and spoke into it. When the radio spoke back to him, he nodded his head and silently followed Mother and Father, while the second shadow entered the medical room.

As he pulled a machine over to Chase's bed, the shadow smirked to himself. Turning the machine on, he said, "This is for your own good kid. This'll take care of that 'Nogitsune' and you'll be back to your regular old Rocket self again!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Sorry for the long wait ya'll! I ran into an old friend of mine, the brick wall! **

**Thanks Cem-Chan for your idea! Even though I didn't use it. But after a while, your idea gave me my idea, so here you go. Thanks for helping! **

**I think this may be my first chapter with no fighting in it. WOW!**

**Next chapter will have plenty of battling! Boy, the matches I have planned! Hehehe! Stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	8. The Enemy Reborn

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs ; Leta – 20 yrs ; Kenny – 21 yrs

Mask – 18 yrs (if you haven't noticed by now...)

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Chase spent the night looking over some notes that were laid out on the table near his bed. The notes spoke of the Three Beings, along with the Two Deities, and The God. He remembered having being told after he woke up that one of the beings had already been captured by his partner. He thought back to the conversation.

_"Where is my partner now?" Chase asked the man before him._

_"Your partner is en route to the next being. But you need to hurry up so that we can rush you back out to where she is. Then you two, along with Brian, who was your temporary replacement, can capture the second being," the man said._

_"But why must we capture them, Master?" Chase asked curiously._

_"Because my son, there are __**evil**__ people out there who want to capture them and use them for __**evil**__. We must catch them so that we may protect them properly. If even one of them is caught, the whole balance of things may go out of order. But we have one, so we are on the way to protecting the whole balance of things. Your helicopter should be arriving here shortly. Be ready to leave once you are notified," Master said. With a smirk, he walked out of the room and closed the door._

Chase reviewed the notes once more before putting them into a folder that was nearby. _To protect them. That is why they need to be captured._ He put the folder in his bag, and grabbed his belt that had a total of eight dark balls attached to it.

He took a quick mental count as he walked out the door and up the stairs. _Umbreon, Espeon, Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Lefia, and two Eevees. _Forgetting about his Rocket mission for a few seconds, his mind thought about his Eevee quest. _Rumor has it that there is one more eeveelution somewhere in the northern section of this region. But also there is a third being nearby that area. So when I go to find the third being, I will make a quick stop to find the remaining eeveelution!_

Chase stepped out onto the roof of a tall building in the middle of a large city. He didn't recognize the city, but really didn't think about it. _Onto Pastoria. Where the next Being is nearby and ours for the taking!_ He stepped onto the helicopter and rode it into the morning sun.

Xxxxxx

Leta and Kenny woke up in the Pastoria Pokemon Center early in the morning. They walked out of the center and nearly collided with two young men who had spiky hair. Leta recognized them instantly as her face lit up more than it had since she thought she found Chase in the paper.

"See, I told you they'd still be here, Ashy," the one spiky haired guy said.

"That wasn't too tough to figure since the sun ain't up yet, Gary" Ash said.

"So you guys ready to go stop Neo Team Rocket?" Leta asked the two boys.

"Um, excuse me Leta. But who are these two?" Kenny asked, looking to the boys.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kenny. This is Gary Oak," Leta said as she pointed to Gary, "and this is Ash Ketchum," pointing to Ash.

"So you two are the help that Leta was telling me about just a little bit ago, huh?" Kenny asked.

"Sure are!" Ash said excited.

"Well then. Let me tell you two what we are doing exactly," Kenny said as he led the group to the lakes shore of Lake Valor.

Xxxxxx

Mask and Brian made their way to the lake shore, but when they got there, they saw a few people hanging around the dock where the rowboats were docked. Masked cursed their luck as they had to wait for the scene to clear. As they waited, however, Mask recognized a girl that was in the group.

"Shit, she's here. And so is that Ranger," Mask cursed silently.

"Who?" Brian asked, oblivious to the people.

"You see that girl over there?" Mask asked, pointing to the girl with the cowboy hat. "That's the girl that I think caused Chase's mental break down to start. Ever since back at Lake Verity, e was acting weird. I think that she has some part to do with his life before NTR."

"Then why don't we get rid of her then?" Brian asked with a crooked smile.

"Because we don't 'get rid' of people!" Mask hissed, slamming a fist into Brian's head. "Besides…" Mask took a closer look at the group.

Brian noticed that Mask hadn't said a word for like five minutes as she stared at the group. "Uh, hello? Earth to Mask? You okay?" Brian asked Mask, waving his hand in front Mask's face.

"Who is _he_?" Mask whispered aloud. Brian got a quizzical look on his face and looked at the group. "His hair is absolutely wonderful!"

"Which one?" Brian asked, completely confused.

"The one with the black hair," Mask answered dreamily. Suddenly, the group got into a boat and headed for the island at the middle of the lake. Snapping out of the dreamy gaze, Mask realized what they were doing. "THEY'RE GOING TO STEAL OUR POKEMON!"

Jumping up, Brian headed for the dock to jump into a boat. "Not if we get there first!" Mask jumped in right behind Brian as he fired up the motor and left the dock in a hurry. Pulling out a pokéball, Brian released a pokemon and a Gyarados appeared. "Go stop that boat!" he yelled, pointing to the boat ahead of them. The water dragon obeyed and caused a whirlpool to stall the boat that the Ranger and others were in. As their boats passed, Brian called out, "LATER LOSERS!" before gunning the engine.

Regaining their bearings, Leta saw what happened. "WE GOTTA CATCH THEM! THAT'S NTR!"

Kenny hammered the gas making the boat lurch almost out of the water. "HOLD ON GUYS!"

Brian looked over his shoulder to see that the Ranger boat was back on track and following them. "Gyarados, stop them again!" His Gyarados turned around and stared at the Ranger boat.

With the Gyarados heading in their direction at full speed, Ash looked at Pikachu (Thought I'd forget that little guy? You must be nuts!) and nodded his head. Pikachu sent a thunderbolt in Gyarados's direction, making a solid hit with the water dragon pokemon. The Gyarados howled in pain, as it collapsed in the lake.

By this time, the NTR boat had already made it to the island, and both Mask and Brian had already jumped out and ran into the cave. _Now, just to find this little being before the others get here. Chase would know where to look if he were here._ Mask thought.

Brian walked along the inside of the cave at a brisk pace, quietly calling out to the Being. "Here Azelf. Where are ya hiding?"

_That's no way to find a legendary Being, _Mask thought in annoyance.

Meanwhile, the Ranger boat was finally getting to the island, and all four people jumped out and ran into the cave to stop NTR.

Xxxxxx

From up in the sky, Chase watched carefully as the helicopter neared the lake. He witnessed a blast of energy being fired from one boat and hitting an object in the water. As the copter got closer, he recognized what was hit. _That's Brian's Gyarados. So _he _was my replacement._ As the copter moved into a hover, barely a foot off the island, Chase jumped out of the copter and preceded to enter the cave. _I think I'm just gonna watch what happens and make my move at the right possible moment. Either way, Azelf is going with NTR!_

Xxxxxx

Mask and Brian walked through the cave trying to find the Being called Azelf. But as they got deeper and deeper into the cave, they found there was into a dead end. "Might as well go back and try to find another way," Brian said. Mask just nodded. They turned around and headed back where they came from. As they came to a bigger hall, they heard voices coming, so they hid in the shadows to avoid being detected.

"Which way is it to Azelf?" Gary asked the Ranger, Kenny. Gary, Ash, and Leta looked to Kenny.

Pulling out a book, Kenny started to read a page. "It says that we need to go down this tunnel, and then we'll find Azelf in a big room." Kenny took off down the tunnel, with the others following.

"We should follow," Mask said, quietly following the group of Rangers. Brian followed close behind Mask. They followed for what seemed like an hour. Finally, the tunnel opened up into a huge dark room.

"Ty, lighten up the room," Kenny ordered his Typhlosion. The room got bright, as the group continued their search. While still looking in his book, Kenny mumbled, "Azelf should be here."

Then from a shodow, Chase appeared, with a smirk and holding a shadow master ball up for all to see. "Indeed, he was in here. Now, he's in this little pokéball of mine. You guys took too long for me to wait any longer."

Leta stepped forward. "Is that you Chase?" she asked nervously.

Chase chuckled evilly. "So, you've figured out my name, Ranger. Yes, I am Chase of NTR. And with here Being, we are one step closer to our goal of saving these endangered creatures from the evils of the Rangers! HAHAHA!"

"We're not the evil ones! NTR is! And so are you!" Leta yelled at him, as she pulled a pokeball out.

"Don't lie to me little girl," Chase hissed at Leta, as he did the same.

"And so it begins," Gary commented, as they watched Chase and Leta release their pokemon. Chase released a Jolteon and Leta released a Riachu. Both pokémon stared at each other, unsure 

whether or not they've seen each other before. Both pokemon recovered, however, when their trainers commanded an attack.

"Sparks, use quick attack!" (Jolteon) "Riachu, use thunderbolt!" As the Riachu's bolt of electricity got close to the Jolteon, it dodged out of the way and became a blur. The next second, it slammed into the side of the Riachu. "Use crunch, Sparks!" "Thunder whip!" The Jolteon opened it's mouth as wide as it could to chomp down on the Riachu, but the Riachu whipped it's tail around, knocking a shocking blow to the Jolteon's mouth. The Jolteon was thrown back due the power of the whip, but recovered quickly.

"This is gonna take a while," Chase hissed to himself.

Meanwhile, Mask had engaged Kenny into a battle. Kenny was using his Typhlosion while Mask was using a Mightyena. But throughout the battle, Mask's concentration kept drifting to the boy with the raven black hair. _NO! Must concentrate on the fight at hand! _

"Ty, roll out!" "Poochy (Mightyena), iron tail!" The Typhlosion began an all out rolling attack on the Mightyena. Each time, the rolling attack missed since the Mightyena jumped out of the way at the last moment. As the Typhlosion came in for a final round, the Mightyena slammed its now iron hard tail onto the head of the Typhlosion. The sudden blow fell the rolling ball of fire at once.

"Ty, no!" Kenny begged the fire pokemon up. But to no luck, he reluctantly recalled the pokemon.

"My turn," Ash said, taking Kenny's spot.

_I can't battle him, _Mask thought. _I was barely keeping my concentration when I was battling Kenny. How can I now?!_

While Ash and Mask started their fight, Brian and Gary's fight was nearing an end. Brian's only pokemon, since his Gyarados lay out in the lake knocked out, Luxray, was pinned to the ground by an unseen force from Gary's Alakazam. Everything that the Luxray through at it, it was reflected back, tenfold. Finally, the Luxray fainted, and Brian fell to his knees in defeat. "How could this be happening?" he asked himself, as he watched Gary walk up him.

"You are under arrest for your crimes as part of NTR," Gary said, as he through handcuffs onto Brian. _One down, two to go,_ he thought, as he watched Leta and Ash fight Chase and Mask.

Mask could see that Mightyena wasn't going to last much longer against Pikachu. _We need to think of something fast. But only me and Chase can get out now. Dumb Brian has been caught._

Chase noticed that Brian was on his knees, with his pokemon fainted in front of him. _Not good,_ Then he got an idea on how they were going to escape. "_Use flash, Mask,_" he hissed to Mask. It took a second for Mask to realize what he meant. But once in sank in, they both called out their Umbreons, and ordered them to use Flash. The entire room filled with blinding light, as Mask and Chase ran out of the cave, closely followed by their pokemon.

As they ran, they heard Kenny call out, "You can't be the good guys! The good guys wouldn't disrupt the natural balance of the world like you are now!"

Outside the cave, Mask asked, "What about Brian?"

"He's none of our business now. Remember our training? Anyone caught is to be cut loose immediately. And he knows that," Chase said sternly. Jumping into the one boat, Chase pulled all of the wires out of the fuse box. "Hurry, we must leave quickly," he said, as he jumped into the other boat and started the engine.

Mask paused beside the boat. _Why can't we be the good guys? We are only trying to protect them._

"Must I leave you too?" Chase asked, getting impatient.

Mask merely shook her head, and jumped into the boat. As they pulled away from the island, she saw them emerging from the cave. _I thought we were the good guys. _

"You let that boy distract you," Chase said after they had reached the docks. "You yourself could have been arrested as well. Is that what you want?"

"Well, uh…" Mask stuttered. She watched Chase get really close to her. She had no idea what he was going to do.

He put his hands on her shoulders. "Well, do you want to be arrested by that boy? Or do you want to protect these pokemon?" He paused for a moment. "Because I can leave you behind in a second if that is what you wanted."

Shock filled her eyes. Chase was the only one that was ever able to get this close to her. She thought of him kind of like a brother in the beginning, but as time went on, she started to think differently. "No. Protecting these pokemon are my job. No matter what those evil Rangers may try to make me think. We are the good guys. They are the evil ones."

"Good. Now let's move on to the next Being," Chase said, turning around and walking in the direction of Veilstone.

_Still, that one boy, I think I heard his name was Ash, was cute,_ Mask let herself think as she followed Chase to Veilstone.

Back in the cave, Leta slammed her fist into the side of the wall. _He's escaped me yet again!_

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**That's two Beings down, one to go!**

**The next few chapters are where things get interesting! So stay tuned in to see what happens!**

**Love you guys!**


	9. The Cold

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs ; Leta – 20 yrs ; Kenny – 21 yrs

Mask – 18 yrs (if you haven't noticed by now...)

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Stopping for the night in Celestic Town, the Rangers took a room in the Pokémon Center for a night. While Ash snored in one of the beds, Gary, Leta, and Kenny were looking at a map that showed all of Sinnoh. They talked quietly about where Neo Team Rocket could be headed.

Kenny took out a marker and X'd off Lake Verity and Lake Valor. That left one last lake left in Sinnoh. "And according to legend, all three beings inhabited the three lakes. So, Lake Acuity is where we'll find the last free Being, Uxie."

"So how much longer before we get there? And more importantly, how can we get there before they do?" Gary asked concerned.

The two boys talked as Leta stared at the map, having seen something catch her eye. Over in the Eterna Forest area, there was a rather large 'E'. And there was another one along Route 217. "Um, what is the purpose of these two 'E's on the map?" Leta asked, interrupting the two boys' conversation.

Kenny looked at the map. A confused look came across his face. "To be honest, I haven't the faintest clue. Why, you think you have an idea?"

"Maybe," Leta said, pulling things out of her bag, looking for something. After a few minutes, she held something up to the boys. "FOUND IT!"

"Found what?" Gary asked.

"This is what sent me to the Eterna Forest a while ago. See the cloaked figure?" Leta said, pointing to one of the pictures. The boys nodded. "Well, this picture shows this cloaked figure battling with an Eevee, then it evolved into a Leafeon. So if that happened at that 'E', what are the chances something will happen at the other 'E'?"

Kenny struck his head with his palm. "OF COURSE!" His outcry got a confused looked from both Leta and Gary. "In the Eterna Forest, there is a rock covered in moss that is said to have powers, to help evolve certain pokemon. Eevee is one of them. The rock causes it to evolve into a Leafeon."

"So what about this other 'E' on Route 217?" Leta asked, pointing to the map.

Kenny thought for a moment. "Although I have never seen it myself, it is rumored that there are actually two forms of Eevees that you can only get here in Sinnoh. A Leafeon. And a Glaceon. You already know about the Leafeon. Now for the Glaceon, there is a second rock, similar to the first, that can help evolve certain pokemon. And…"

"And Eevee is one of those pokemon!" Leta nearly yelled. "I'm sure that he'll make a stop there," she said more to herself than to the others. She got up, grabbed her things, and went to one of the beds that was close to the window. _I will rescue you, Chase, _she thought as she fell to sleep.

After Gary and Kenny were positive that she was soundly sleeping, Kenny asked, "Dude, how deep is she with this Chase guy?"

Sighing, Gary said, "Deep enough that she has disobeyed her parents to come and find him. Her parents have found plenty of guys for her to marry, but she won't do as her parents want because she is that _deep_."

Kenny just simply said, "Wow."

Xxxxxx

In a cabin across the town, Mask and Chase were getting ready to get some sleep. Chase could hear Mask snoring lightly before too long, but he stayed up thinking. He saw Shadow sleeping at the foot of his bed. Just as he was starting to drift off to sleep, one of his pokeballs popped open.

"Eevee," one of his Eevees had released itself. It went to the northern window and stared out.

"What's wrong little guy?" Chase asked, getting up to go over to the Eevee. It looked from the window to him, then back to the window. Chase stared out window for a bit before he 'heard' a voice from behind him.

'He feels the pull to whatever pulled your other Eevee to the forest that eventully evolved into your Leafia," Shadow said.

"Well, rumors have it there is this ice rock that evolves eevees into ice types," Chase said to Shadow. Then to the Eevee, "Is that what you're feeling now?"

"Vee!" the little Eevee squeaked, pawing at the window lightly.

"Well, we'll go see if we can't find that rock tomorrow, k?" Chase asked.

"Vee!" the little Eevee squeaked again in delight.

"Good, now let's get some sleep," Chase said, laying back down in his bed. He watched as Shadow jumped up and laid down at the end of the bed, while the Eevee curled up in his arms.

"So I see the all business Chase has a soft spot after all," Mask said, having seen everything.

"I thought you were asleep," Chase said, slightly taken aback by her sudden voice. He looked across the room, to see that the moonlight from outside clearly illuminated Mask's bed. He also saw that her mask wasn't on either at the moment.

"Couldn't sleep since I heard Shadow's voice in my head," Mask said, looking to Shadow who just smiled sheepishly.

'Sorry, I didn't think you'd pick up on that,' Shadow said.

"It's alright. So why is it that you prefer to use only Eevees, even though you could have any powerful pokemon you could possibly want?" Mask asked, now sitting in her bed.

Smiling, because he knew he was somewhat caught, Chase said, "I don't know. It's just something about Eevees…" He trailed off as he petted the Eevee that was curled up beside him. "Just something about them that I find so interesting."

"Still, nice to know that you aren't as rock solid as you make yourself out to be," Mask said smiling to Chase. Chase didn't say anything, but just smiled back, as he looked into her blue-green eyes from across the room.

Xxxxxx

"Okay, the ice rock is over there. You sure that you can do this by yourself?" Kenny asked Leta.

"Yes. It's the only way that I'll be able to get through to him," Leta said. "And besides, his partner may not stop here like he might. Chase might stop here just to evolve one of his eevees, while his partner goes on ahead to capture Uxie."

"Fine, catch up to us later afterwards," Kenny said, leaving Leta behind. She watched as Kenny, Gary, and Ash headed to Lake Acuity to prevent the last Being from being captured.

It wasn't too much longer that Leta saw a shadow coming from out of the blizzard. She was hoping that it was Chase that was coming, but it turned out to be a random passerby. _Just my luck, getting all hyped up over nothing,_ she said, while mentally slapping her head.

Now, a few hours had passed, and she started to wonder if she had missed him completely. _But if I had missed him, then they would have gone to the lake, and captured the Being before Kenny and the other two got there. So they would have come back by now!_ she thought, trying to keep her hopes up.

Another shadow appeared out of the blizzard. This time it looked to be a little Eevee that was pouncing through the snow. And following behind it was two figures. _IT'S THEM! _Leta thought to herself surprised that the masked one would come to the rock. But then she saw one of the figures head in the direction of the lake, while the remaining figure continued on towards the rock. _Now, it's my turn,_ she thought, stepping out from behind the trees.

"I see you've finally came," Leta said, with an accusing tone in her voice.

Seeing who it was, Chase merely growled in displeasure. "What do you want, Ranger?"

"I want to show you why you don't belong to Neo Team Rocket. And why NTR are evil," Leta said, pulling out a pokéball.

Chase's Eevee growled at Leta. "And how do you suppose you show me that?" Chase mocked.

"By beating you in a battle!" Leta said, releasing one of her pokemon. _Latias, remember Chase?_ The Latias cocked it's head to one side for a second, then as the name struck, it nodded its head. _That's him. But don't go easy on him. We have to take him down._

"Eevee, Quick attack!" Chase commanded. Before Leta had a chance to give a counter command, the little Eevee had rammed the side of Latias. The Latias looked at the Eevee with disgust. Without a command from Leta, it countered by trying to ram the Eevee using Zen Headbutt. The Eevee evaded by jumping at the last moment.

"Again with quick attack!" This time, the Eevee didn't become just a blur, it completely vanished. Leta and Latias glanced around nervously trying to find the Eevee. But when they finally saw he snow prints that were being left, it was too late. Eevee slammed into the Latias once again.

"Don't just float there Latias! Use Psychic!" Leta commanded. Latias' eyes glowed a purplish color as it released a huge amount of psychic energy. The Eevee that had been running circles around the dragon pokemon was forced to stop in its tracks and pushed into the snow.

"You think burying him in snow is going to save you? USE DIG!" Chase yelled. The Eevee stayed beneath the snow. No movement was seen, except for the hovering Latias.

"Use dragonbreath on the entire area! Clear the snow, Latias!" Leta said, hoping that she could find a way to get Chase to snap out of his attack.

As the snow melted, Chase knew it would be a matter of time before the Eevee was found. "Shadow Ball!" A blob a dark energy appeared from out of the snow and landed a direct hit on the Latias. It struggled to stay in the air, but slowly fell to the ground. The Eevee took one step closer to the Latias, but then paused. It stood right beside the icy rock, and started to glow.

A few moments later, what use to be an Eevee, was now evolved into a new form. "That's a Glacia!" Leta said. "Well, Chase the Eevee Master, you have yet another one of the Eevee forms."

Chase starred wide eyed at her. "What did you just call me?" he asked.

"Chase, the Eevee Master," Leta repeated. _Did I just strike a chord?_ Then as if on cue, Leta's Dratini popped out of its pokéball.

_That name! It sounds so familiar!_ Chase looked at the Dratini. But something was odd about it. It was pink. _And why does that look oddly familiar? Yet I can't put my finger on it. _It was like something was trying to break free in Chase's mind. Something was pounding away on the inside of Chase's head, and he could feel it. He put a hand up to his head to try to hold it in.

"What's wrong?" Leta asked, getting concerned.

Chase quickly recalled his newly evolved Glacia and decided it was time to leave. But before he left, he said, "One day, you'll have to explain how you can cause me so much pain." Then he disappeared into the blizzard.

Xxxxxx

Leta eventually caught up with Kenny, Gary, and Ash after her battle with Chase. Since it really didn't go as planned, she was in a little bit of a sour mood. _The next time I see that 'Mask' that I always see him with, I'm going to clock her!_ But she knew that Mask wasn't the reason behind Chase's actions. There was something else.

"So, no luck huh?" Gary asked. Leta shook her head.

"Well, the good news is that Uxie is still here. So we can at least be prepared for when they show up!" Kenny tried to sound optimistic. He put another log on the fire. "I'll take the first watch. You guys get some sleep. I'll wake you if they show up."

"If they come during the night, their nuts!" Ash said, shivering in the cold.

It didn't take long before Ash and Gary were sleeping. But Leta just couldn't sleep. That wasn't until a strange warmness came over her. Kenny had placed his extra coat over her to keep her warm. She smiled as she slowly drifted off. Kenny smiled to himself, seeing that Leta was asleep, and somewhat happier than we she regrouped with them..

Whispering to himself so that no one could hear, Kenny said Leta, "I know that you've been waiting to find him. But is he still the boy you thought he once was, or could be still? Truth is, I think I'm starting to fall for you." Suddenly, Kenny couldn't keep his eyes open. He just slumped to the ground as he started to snore.

"Good job, Sunny," Chase said to his Espeon. Behind him, Mask quietly followed with her Umbreon (Moonlight) out. He and Mask snuck by the Rangers and entered the cave. With Moonlight ahead of them lighting the way, they walked down the cave corridors until they found the huge room that was similar to the other caves.

"Well, we have the infamous Neo Team Rocket to try to kidnap me," a voice said from above them. Chase and Mask looked up to see the third Being levitating close to the top of the room.

"No, we've come to protect you," Chase corrected.

"Protection? I need no protection," the being laughed. "I am Uxie! One of the three mighty beings. And you think I need protection?"

"Yes, there are a group of Rangers just outside your cave looking to capture you" Chase said.

"That's not the way I see things," Uxie said, instantly in Chase's face, with his eyes closed. "Hmm, I can see that you've had an interesting past."

"Stay out of my mind," Chase yelled, trying to push Uxie back out of his mind.

"But why can't I see you as a child? Hmm?" Uxie asked, intrigued by this.

"Moonlight, quick attack!" Mask commanded her Umbreon. The Umbreon became but a blur, and made contact with the Uxie. But Uxie seemed more interested in finding out about Chase's past, than he was protecting himself from any attacks. Granted, that attack did little to him.

"I see," Uxie said. "There is a block where your childhood begins. Would you like to see your childhood?" Uxie asked.

"NO! I HAD A TRUAMATIZING CHILDHOOD! I don't want to relive it," Chase said, falling to his knees, holding his head.

"Aqua-Shell! Hydro pump!" Mask's Blastiose started to pump massive amounts of water in Uxie's direction. But Uxie deflected all the water like it was nothing.

"You know what the legends say, right Chase?" Uxie asked. Chase nodded his head. "Not only can I erase memories, I can also restore them."

Chase glanced upward for a second. And that second was enough for Uxie to get into Chase's mind, and tear down the wall blocking the way to the past. All the memories from the past flooded Chase's now conscious mind. Everything he thought he forgot, was in his mind again. In his fit to regain control, he grabbed one of the dark master balls he had, and capture Uxie with it.

The ball laid on the ground, as Chase collapsed to the ground. Mask picked up the ball and put it in Chase's bag where the other two Beings were being held. "You okay?" Mask asked Chase. He was shaking in her arms. _I guess that memory shock is taking its affect on you, isn't it?_

Shadow and Moonlight came running back into the cave. Panting, Shadow said, 'They heard all the commotion in here! The Rangers are coming!'

Chase jumped to his feet automatically. Without thinking, he grabbed his bag, and Mask's hand, and led her to the entrance. "When I say run, we run for the exit," Chase said. He watched as Kenny, Ash, and Gary all rush pass them. Then not seeing Leta following, he yelled, "RUN!" Both he and Mask took off for the exit while the guys behind them tried to catch them.

They had just gotten out of the cave when Mask got tripped up on something. What she tripped on was Leta waiting to catch whoever she could. As she kicked off Leta's hold, Kenny and Ash tackled her and prevented her from getting away.

Chase looked back over his shoulder and stopped for a second. He too was almost caught by Gary if it weren't for Mask yelling, "SAVE YOURSELF! RUN!" And right before Gary could catch Chase, he took off into the blizzard. It wasn't long before Chase found a snow bank and could hide from the others. He quietly made his way back to the cave, but stayed behind the trees.

Realizing that there wasn't much he could do for Mask, he turned around and started to return to the NTR base. Starting to cry, he whispered, "Mask, I'm sorry."

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Well, there be another chapter for you guys. As I was writing the second half of this, I was talking to a friend on MSN, Disney Demon. And she kept giving me ideas for this chapter. And a really good idea for the start of the next. Hehe. **

**I CAN'T WAIT TO FINISH THE NEXT CHAPTER! And you all will see why soon enough!**


	10. Not Without You

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, I won't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs; Leta – 20 yrs; Kenny – 21 yrs; Mask – 18 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

CrystalMask: WHERE'S THE CREDIT FOR USING MY CHARACTER AND HER POKEMON?!

Chase: sweat drops Oops, guess I kind of forgot. Sorry. You can add your disclaimer…

CrystalMask: Thank you. I think I will. **Chase also doesn't own Mask, in any form that she may be represented in (Mask, Dark Mask, or her real name which shall be unveiled later), or any of the pokémon that she has. I, unfortunately don't own Pokémon either, they are just the pokémon that I use in my games. **Now, my underling, you may continue with your story.

Chase: mock bows Thank you, Master. turning back to the crowd AND NOW, BACK TO THE SHOW!

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Chase knew that after he had obtained all of the three Beings, he was to report to the hideout of Neo Team Rocket in Hearthome. But he only made it as far as Mt. Coronet before finally he couldn't see straight and needed to stop for some rest. He looked around for a place to rest, before deciding on a small crack in the side of the mountain that was covered by a bush. Before he knew it, he was sleeping.

As he slept, he had visions that were from his past. Visions that felt oddly enough familiar, but were still unfamiliar. Easy to say, his sleep wasn't very restful. Every little noise that was made, a twig snapping, footsteps nearby, or even the slightest gust of wind set him on edge. But he soon found something to hold onto, something that put him at ease and let him rest. _Mask…_

'Does she look familiar to you?' Sunny asked Shadow as their trainer slept.

'She does kind of, I just can't put my paw on it,' Shadow answered. He started to watch his master dream. He had been doing so lately, just to check to see that Chase was doing all right. 'But if she is who she says she is, and what she says about NTR being evil, then we are in for a fight.'

Xxxxxx

Master was waiting patiently by the phone in his office. He hadn't slept in almost a week, since that was when he let Chase back out into the field to capture the rest of the beings. He 

needed them to summon the God of Pokémon. He had already had some of his other better agents capture Dialga and Palkia. He just needed those three Beings in order to summon the God, Arceus. _That power right there would let me take over the world. No one would dare to defy me. Not even that kid with that blasted Pikachu._ Master slammed his fist into the steel wall behind him. "WHAT'S TAKING HIM SO FREAKING LONG?!" Master yelled at the top of his voice.

Xxxxxx

_**Hello Chase,**_ a voice said inside of Chase's head, waking him from a somewhat peaceful sleep. He looked around nervously, thinking he was spotted, but seeing no one made him a little more nervous.

_Am I losing my mind now? _ Chase asked himself. With everything that has happened within the last few days, he'd almost believe anything. He'd almost believe that NTR was evil. Almost.

_**But they are evil. Can't you see?**_ The voice said again. This time, he was certain of where it came from. It came from inside his own head.

_See what? And who are you? _Chase asked the voice in his head. He closed his eyes as if that would help him to see inside his own head. That idea worked, just a little too well.

A shadow emerged from the depths of what seemed to be the lost memories of Chase. Prior to his initial brainwashing when he joined NTR. As it got closer, he could see that it was in the form of an Eevee, just bigger than normal._ Who are you?_ Chase asked again.

_**Why Chase, I am you. Remember?**_ As if on cue, Chase saw one of the visions that had been sealed away from him. It was of when he and Shadow were in that warehouse. When they first met this spirit.

_Nog…Nogit…Nogitsune?_ Chase stammered.

_**Ahh, so you do remember. Do you remember why we were brought together?**_ Involuntarily, that same vision that had been floating around him, and this Nogitsune, started to play itself out.

Chase fell to his knees, as he watched what appeared to be himself, just younger, talk to this spirit about NTR. Then he watched as the spirit entered his body. He didn't just watch it though. The pain ran through him again as well.

Chase's body fell over from its sitting position, and fell flat on the ground, with Chase grabbing at his sides in pain.

'What's going on?' Sunny asked.

'That thing,' Shadow mumbled. 'That thing I've been sensing all this time talking to Chase. It's the same thing that caused his last panic attack.'

_What happened to me? _Chase was almost in tears. _How could I have let this happen to me?_

_**Do you remember why you betrayed your own way of thinking? It was for a greater good at the time. Just, we never thought they'd brainwash you and make you into their super agent.**_ Nogitsune wasn't yelling at Chase. Not like the last time he was able to break free and try to stop Chase. This time, he knew that he had to be gentle about it. Convincing.

_I do remember now. I joined not because I wanted to. I rather would have died myself. But they were going to kill them. I couldn't let that happen._ Chase found himself crying. He looked up to the spirit that was before him.

_What can I do now? _he asked the spirit.

_**Confront Master, and destroy him, **_the spirit said.

_I can't do it without her. I need her. She's been with me since then,_ Chase cried, letting his head fall into his hands.

_**Who? Mask? She's just as evil as all of NTR. Surely you must know that,**_ the spirit barked at him. _**But there is another you could ask for help from.**_

_Who? _ Chase asked, almost curiously.

_**That girl, with the cowboy hat. Leta I believe her name is. **_the spirit said to Chase. _**She'd be a good ally in battle. And besides, before this even happened to you, you two were together.**_

_What I need is a friend for this battle, not just an ally,_ Chase said defiantly. _I'm going back for Mask. And you can't stop me. _He stood up in his mind. _You can help me now, or you can leave my body._

_**Kid, I'm here to destroy NTR. Along with the man who killed me. So I'll help you. Although going back for this girl and not the other may be a bad idea,**_ the spirit said.

Shadow and Sunny watched as their trainer stood up. "We're going back for her," Chase said.

'Mask?' Shadow asked.

'Do you know any other 'her's?' Sunny asked Shadow sarcastically. Shadow just stared at her.

Xxxxxx

In the snowy city of Snowpoint, a pokémon center was being used as a prisoner interrogation center. Mask was left in a room that had nothing in it but two chairs. The only window that was there to look out had metal bars on the outside, per the Rangers' request. They weren't taking the chance of Mask of NTR escaping. Then the door opened. A boy with brown spiky hair entered the room. She had come to know him as Gary.

Gary sat down in the one chair, which was right beside the door. He stared at her with the coldest stare, so cold it would put the blizzard outside to shame. Ever since her capture, she hadn't spoke a single word to any of them. They said plenty to her, she just didn't respond.

"Would you be more apt to talking if we took the restraints off you?" Gary asked. Mask did nothing. No head shake, no words. Nothing. Sighing, Gary decided to remove her restraints, but prepared himself in case she decided to bolt. But she didn't. She just sat there with a blank stare on her face.

"So, how'd you become to be part of NTR?" Gary asked. He moved his chair to right in front of her. He looked straight into her eyes, and saw nothing. _She must be zoned out or something._ "Your pokémon are being healed by Nurse Joy."

"Thank you," Mask said unexpectedly. Her voice almost made Gary jump out of his chair.

"Who was that boy you were with?" Gary asked, hoping to get more out of her. But to his disappointment, she locked back up and stayed quiet. He would try to get her to talk for the next few hours, but would have no luck. Finally, his shift was up, and Kenny would come in.

Kenny couldn't get her to talk either. He went as far as to test her reflexes. But she didn't even move a muscle, not even blinked. His time was soon enough up, and then it would be Ash's turn. But they decided to let her have some time in isolation before trying again.

So while she was by herself, she moved over to by the window and stared out. _I wonder how Chase is doing. I hope he got those Beings to Master._ A noise brought her out of her thoughts. She looked out the window and saw Chase standing outside looking in on her. She quietly opened the window so that she could talk.

"You shouldn't be here," Mask hissed. "You need to get those Beings to the Master."

"Not without you," Chase whispered back. "I can't face him without you."

"You have to. They've taken my pokémon. I'm no good to you," Mask hissed. "Remember your training, if caught, you are to cut them loose. You need to save yourself."

"I'm not strong enough by myself," Chase whispered, almost on the verge of tears. "I need you." He started to look at the bars to see how to break them out. He was working so hard on the one bar, that he didn't notice the door open.

"YOU!" a familiar voice yelled. Everyone froze and looked at the door. Leta was standing in the doorway. Next thing everyone knew, Leta was running out the center to catch Chase.

"Please leave. Go to Master and finish the mission," Mask said to Chase. She slammed the window closed. Then she mouthed, _I'm sorry_, to Chase. Chase just stared at her in shock. But that shock didn't last long, as Leta came running around the corner of the building.

"I'M GONNA CATCH YOU CHASE!" Leta yelled as she closed in on Chase.

Chase thought for a brief second as to whether or not he should let himself be captured. But right before she caught him, his feet decided to run and not get caught. For the second time, he thought to himself, _I'm sorry Mask._

_**Why didn't you ask that girl for help?**_ Nogitsune asked.

_Because, she isn't my friend,_ Chase said back to him.

Back at the pokémon center, the Rangers were trying to figure out what to do next. But without not having someone watching Mask. But since Gary and Kenny had already watched Mask, it was Ash's turn to watch her. It wasn't too long before the others fell asleep. And then it was just Ash and Mask by themselves in the room.

Mask couldn't keep her glazed stare for any length of time. Her eyes kept finding their way to Ash. She found herself staring at him, and thinking, _Why couldn't he have been a part of NTR? _ Suddenly, she noticed that he was looking back at her. She turned away, blushing bright red.

_Huh?_ was all Ash could think of.

_I have to get out of here. I must get out before I …_ Mask looked around and realized that the only way out was the door. She patiently waited to see if Ash would fall asleep out of boredom. It wasn't long before he started to doze off. When she thought he was asleep, she tried to tip toe her way out the door. But right as she got to the door, she felt something whip her around so fast, that the mask she had been wearing, flew off her face and landed on the ground. She just stared into the eyes of what had turned her around. It was Ash. At first, his eyes were full of anger, but as he stared into her eyes, they softened up. Something in them told him that she really didn't have bad intentions.

Mask felt her face turn really hot, as she could imagine her face was bright red by now. _I need to get aw…_ Mask felt his arms gently grab both of her arms.

"Were you trying to run?" Ash asked softly. Mask merely nodded her head yes. "To return to NTR?" Again, she shook her head. "Why?" Mask just lowered her head in shame.

"Chase," Mask whispered. She didn't want to give in to fact that she had some feelings for him. But he had looked after her while they grew up. But now that she was caught, she knew nothing of what to do next. "He was my partner." She knew that she couldn't ever go back.

Ash just looked at the girl in front of him. "You do know that NTR is evil, right? Those pokémon belong in the wild to do what they do. They help hold the balance of things in place." Ash let that sink in. "And your Master, used to be the boss of Team Rocket. And they wanted to take over the world. So this Master of yours, is the same guy, and has the same plan. To take over the world. We need your help."

Mask's eyes flashed open. _He was the leader of Team Rocket? An evil organization? Then, we have been doing the wrong thing!_ She threw her arms around Ash, catching him off guard. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know what was happening when we…" Ash's shirt got a little wet due to the tears that were falling from Mask's eyes.

"There there," Ash said while calming the crying Mask down. He lifted Mask's chin up with his finger, bringing their faces close together. "You help us, and I'll make sure that nothing happens to you." He stared into her blue-green eyes, which looked like small jewels in the moonlight up close like this. He smiled reassuringly at her, while examining her face. Something, a sudden emotion, made him want to lean in and kiss her but, he held that feeling, not wanting to create a problem by doing something unexpected. He saw Mask blush slightly, not knowing that he wasn't the only with the urge to kiss the other. The door suddenly opened, making Ash and Mask jump apart. They both looked at Kenny, who hadn't noticed that both Ash and Mask had been **very**close to each other.

Mask knew what was going on. Ash's eyes were once again filled with anger. But she could tell that they weren't as angry as before.

"She tried to escape, but I stopped her," Ash said to Kenny, as he walked in.

"Well, who removed her restraints?" Kenny asked, locking Mask back into her chair.

"I believe that was Gary," Ash said.

"Well, it's my turn, so go rest while we wait for the shuttle to get here," Kenny said. Ash quietly left the room. But before he left, he picked up the mask that had fallen off her face, and looked back at her. The instant their eyes met, both of their faces turned a slight pinkish color.

Xxxxxx

Chase stood in front of a large dull building in Hearthome. He had to put a stop to Master. Still wearing his NTR cloak, he walked in the double doors and headed for the elevator. He passed the secretary and showed his ID card before stepping into the elevator. Once the elevator doors closed, the secretary made a phone call.

"Master, he's on his way to you now," the secretary said.

"Good," Master said. _I can take care of him like I did his parents then. _He chuckled to himself as Chase entered the room. "My boy! How are you doing?" he asked walking over to Chase with a smile.

"Mask was caught," Chase said coldly. He held onto the three pokéballs that held the three Beings. He walked over to the window and looked out. They were on the top floor, a good fifty stories up.

"Have you acquired the Beings at least?" Master asked. He followed the boy to the window, and pretended to look out the window. _Once I get them from this kid, he's history._

"Yes, I have acquired them," Chase said, still looking out the window. "But tell me, why do you want them?" Chase felt Nogitsune laugh slightly inside of him.

"So we can pro…" Master started to say. But Chase turned and gave him a cold stare. _He already knows. _"To rule the world. And with your help, I can do that. All you have to do is hand over those pokémon."

"And if I said 'no'?" Chase asked.

"Well," Master sighed, "I knew you'd figure out sooner or later, so I'd have to get rid of you. Alakazam, Teleport to the caverns." Suddenly, Master and Chase were on the edge of a huge cavern.

Chase tried to jump away from the edge but found that he couldn't move his body. He saw Master standing away from the edge, with an Alakazam behind him. "Why you dirty…"

"Now, be a good boy and hand over those pokémon!" Master yelled. Alakazam's eyes glowed as Chase pulled out the pokéballs out of his pocket unwillingly. The pokéballs floated over to Master as he grinned evilly. "Now that I have the Three Beings, and the Two Deities, I no longer have a use for you. I will get rid of you like I did your parents, and like how I was going to get rid of your partner, Mask. Machamp, Seismic Toss!"

Chase could only watch as his paralyzed body failed to respond to his commands for his legs to work. But as the Machamp slammed the ground, the edge of the cavern gave way, falling into the cavern itself, taking Chase as well. _It wasn't suppose to end like this!_

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Wow! Any of you see that one coming? So, who is going to stop Master now? Stay tuned!**

**As a note to you guys. I'm going out of town this Saturday and will be gone for a whole week, so I will most likely get to your reviews after I get back. Take care and PEACE!**

**Oh, thanks to CrystalMask. She let's me use her character and her pokémon for this fic and for giving me ideas to use.**


	11. Plan Exposed

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series. I also don't own the character Mask, as CrystalMask does, along with the pokémon that she uses. And I don't own Kenny's friend, Shura, she belongs to the creators of Rurouni Kenshin.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs; Leta – 20 yrs; Kenny – 21 yrs; Mask – 18 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Upon arriving in Canalave, the Rangers escorted their prisoner, Mask, to their base for more questioning. Leta, Gary, and Ash stayed behind to watch the questioning, but Kenny had other plans. He quietly excused himself and headed for the library where he had first fought with Chase when he was stealing the books.

_What is it that you guys are after? _Kenny asked himself. He aimlessly wandered around the library hoping to find the thing he was looking for. He found himself in the ancient section of the library, where books about the past and ancient pokémon were held.

Kenny started to pick up books and flip through them. Every now and then, he would find something about one of the Beings, and he would read a little closer hoping to find something interesting. But every time he would fail.

"Long time, no see, Ranger," a girl's voice said from the end of the aisle. Kenny looked up to see a young girl with green hair about as long as Leta's, and also brown eyes.

"Well hello to you to, Shura," Kenny said with a smile. "What have the Rangers been keeping you busy with?"

"Protecting the Deities," Shura laughed nervously. "But I somehow have messed that up as well."

"So you heard about the Beings then," Kenny asked, as he watched Shura nod her head. Returning to the books, he asked out loud, "What are they after?"

"Well, considering that it must involve both the Deities and the Beings, I'd say we'd have to find a book that includes them all," Shura said. She went over to the computer and started to look up the different pokémon. Within a few minutes, she went walking right by Kenny with a smile.

"What are you so happy about?" Kenny asked, following her.

Shura stopped and pulled a book off the shelf. "This," she said with a smile, holding it in front of Kenny. Kenny took it from her and went over to a table.

Kenny opened the book and look at the contents page. _Mesprit, Uxie, Azelf, Palkia, Dialga, and …_"They can't be…" Kenny's face paled as the realization of Neo Team Rocket's plan finally made sense. "The Three Beings, the Two Deities, and the God, Arceus."

Xxxxxx

"Is there any thin we can get for you today Mr. Ikakas?" a waitress asked a dark clothed man in a restaurant.

"Just bring me my usual please," Mr. Ikakas replied. As the waitress left, the man picked up the newspaper and read the cover story. In big bold letters at the top of the newspaper read, _NTR member caught!_ The man sighed heavily. _If she says anything, my whole operation is going to be jeopardized. At least I don't have to worry about that punk ever again. And he's even sleeping with his parents now at the bottom of that cliff. He had potential, if he didn't start to have those damn breakdowns._

"Here you go, Mr. Ikakas," the waitress said, putting the soup bowl down in front of the man. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Not at the moment, thanks," Mr. Ikakas said, dismissing the waitress. _It is time to proceed with the next part of my plan. _He pulled out a phone and dialed a number. "Andy, commence _Operation Museum _tonight. Get me that piece!"

A monotonic male's voice came through the phone. "Yes, Master."

As Mr. Ikakas began to eat his soup, he thought, _It won't be long before I own the God pokémon Arceus. And then no one will stand in my way of ruling this pathetic world! Not even that brat with the Pikachu!_

Xxxxxx

Kenny and Shura made their way back to the Ranger base just on the outskirts of Canalave city. While Shura went on to see how the interrogation was preceding, Kenny made his way to the lounge area to learn more about Arceus. Grabbing a soda from one of the vending machines, he sat down and opened the book.

He read, _In order to summon the God pokémon, Arceus, you must first capture the Three Beings, and the Two Deities. After you have them, then you must acquire the Azure Flute. Finally, at the top of Spear Pillar, play the Azure Flute and the doors to Arceus' lair will appear for the one who played the Flute to enter._

Kenny continued on the next page. _A single person may capture the God, only if he defeats Arceus in a battle. And having possession of this God will give him unlimited power. The world will fall into chaos, and the world will cease to exist. Everything will perish._ Kenny gasped when he read that the world would end at the capture of this God pokémon.

"We can't let this happen," Kenny said through gritted teeth.

"Let what happen?" Shura asked from the door of the lounge.

"Where is the Azure Flute?" Kenny asked, picking up the book and heading out of the room.

"I don't know," Shura said unsure. "But we should be able to find where it's at momentarily."

"We don't have a moment to spare," Kenny said in an edgy voice.

Xxxxxx

In the interrogation room, Mask and Leta were sitting face to face across a table. Neither had said a word for about 2 hours. In fact, Mask hadn't said a word period.

"Where's your Master hiding?" Leta asked sternly. But Mask just stared back at her with a blank stare.

"I asked you a question!" Leta yelled.

Mask smirked. "You didn't say the magic word."

This got on Leta's nerves quickly. Reaching across the table, Leta grabbed Mask by the collar of her shirt and pulled hr halfway across the table. Hissing, Leta asked again, "Where is he hiding?"

Still smirking, Mask replied, "Say the magic word first."

"Why you…" Leta raised her fist.

"Please, Mask, where is he hiding?" Ash said suddenly from behind Leta. Leta whipped her head around to see that Ash was just closing the door.

"A little warning next time would be nice," Leta said, dropping Mask back into her chair.

"Hearthome," Mask said, with a smile.

"What does he want with the Beings?" Leta asked Mask, still pissed that Ash was there.

"And also why does he want the Deities?" Ash added.

Mask started to answer. "The Three Beings and the Two Deities are needed to be present when the Azure Flute is played so that…"

"HE'S GOING TO SUMMON ARCEUS!" Kenny yelled, bursting into the room.

"Exactly what he said," Mask said.

"What is that?" Ash and Leta asked.

Before Kenny could answer, since he was busy catching his breath, Mask decided to answer that question. "Arceus, the God pokémon, gives its trainer unlimited power. But along with the Beings and Deities, a single person could rule over this world as a God himself. Chasey told me that."

Leta got mad again. "WHERE IS CHASE?!"

"What's wrong? Does he mean something to you?" Mask asked in a teasing tone.

Leta grabbed Mask once again and pulled her out of her chair. "He was my boyfriend before Neo Team Rocket kidnapped him from me. And why did you call him 'Chasey'?" Leta asked, throwing Mask back into her chair harshly.

Bowing her head, Mask replied, "Because he was also kind of my boyfriend while he was part of Neo Team Rocket. Master always paired us up for our missions. He always looked out for me, and took the blame for something that I did by mistake. But there was this one time, on our vacation two years ago. We had taken a month and gone to a private beach where it was just the two of us. One of the last nights we were at that beach, there was a full moon out. He said I looked 'beautiful' in the moonlight, right before he kissed me. I never knew…"

"I think I'm going to be sick," Leta said, running out of the room, holding her sides and her mouth.

"I think I'm going to go make sure she's alright," Kenny said, exiting the room to follow Leta.

It was just Mask and Ash left in the room. Neither one of them spoke for a few minutes, nor looked one another directly in the eye. Finally, Ash asked, "How did Chase come to know all this information?"

Mask looked up at Ash. "He stole some books from this library and did his research on them before we went after the Beings. He also did some research on the Deities as well, along with some Eevee research, which I really haven't gotten a straight answer from him as to why he likes Eevees so much."

"He always has, even from the beginning. He started his travels to find his parents with six Eevees from Prof Oak. He just loves those Fox type pokémon. Always has, always will, until death," Ash said calmly.

The prisoner official knocked on the door. "It's time for the prisoner to be escorted to her cell for the night."

"Don't worry about it officer," Ash said. "I'll take care of that." He got up and motioned for Mask to stand. He then put the cuffs on her behind her back gently. Escorting her past the officer, he help a hold of her cuffs to prevent her from running. Once they were out of the officer's sight, he let go of the cuffs and softly put one of his arms around her waist and walked beside her with her close to him. It's a good thing he didn't look down at her, or he'd see that her face was turning a bright red.

"Aren't you supposed to be escorting me to my cell?" Mask asked nervously.

"Isn't that what I'm doing now?" Ash asked back.

"Well, yeah," Mask said nervously. "But I mean, escorting me in the way that you are. It makes you look like you aren't doing your job. More like, just walking with me."

"Oh, make no mistake about it. I am escorting you, so you don't run from me. But also," Ash laughed slightly, "Because I want to hold you." Mask's face turned a bright red as she bowed her head lower. Ash laughed to himself.

"Oh, and was that story really true about you and Chase on that vacation?" Ash asked curiously.

"Nope," Mask answered cheerfully. "I made that up just to play with Leta's head. Although it is true that I do like him, but more as a brotherly figure."

"I thought so, since I saw that huge grin plastered on your face when she ran out of the room," Ash laughed, as he held her tighter.

"I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you," Mask said in a subdued voice.

"Don't be too sorry. Everything will be alright soon enough," Ash said with a whisper.

Xxxxxx

Andy found a pay phone outside of the museum. "Mr. Ikakas, I have your Flute. The security around here is so lazy. I could have ripped it off during the day."

"Good job, my boy. Don't get over confident. We still have the next phase to complete," Master said. Meet me at the soup shop tomorrow for lunch, my treat."

"Yes sir," Andy said, hanging up the phone. _You better pay me good for this job. I came off of vacation just for you._ He whistled into the night as he disappeared into the shadows.

Xxxxxx

The phone rang at the Ranger's base late that night. Shura answered the phone and spoke to the person on the other side. It was Officer Jenny. "You're positive?"

"Yes, the Azure Flute was reported missing after a standard walk through by the museum security guard," Jenny said.

"Thanks," Shura said, hanging up the phone.

Running into the lounge, that was made into a makeshift bunker, she yelled, "THE FLUTE WAS STOLEN!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Howdy ya'll! Well, I'm back from my vacation, and boy do I miss it. But, bills need to be paid, so I must work. BLAH!**

**Well, everything seems to be falling into place here. The next chapters should be fun to write, and read.**

**So until next time, keep reading and reviewing!**


	12. On The Spear

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series. I also don't own the character Mask, as CrystalMask does, along with the pokémon that she uses. And I don't own Kenny's friend, Shura, she belongs to the creators of Rurouni Kenshin.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs; Leta – 20 yrs; Kenny – 21 yrs; Mask – 18 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

Adam was running at a full sprint as he ran towards Mt Coronet. He had read an email from his sister just that morning about the attack on the God pokémon Arceus. She had even included that if Arceus was captured, the world and universe would cease to exist and fall apart. He was trying to get to the battlefield before anything serious could happen. And by serious, he thought that Arceus would be captured by someone who wasn't meant to capture a God pokémon.

_This isn't getting me there as quickly as I need to get there,_ Adam thought to himself. Pulling out a pokéball, he threw it and released his Salamence. Jumping onto the back of the large dragon type pokémon, he said, "Sal, we need to get to the top of the mountain as soon as we can!" The Salamence nodded his head and took off for the top of the mountain.

_Hang on sis, I'm coming!_

Xxxxxx

At the top of the mountain, Master had already defeated Ash, Gary, Kenny, Shura, and was working to finish off both Mask and Leta. Their last pokémon could barely stand, let alone continue to fight.

Looking at her Blastiose, Mask couldn't believe that they couldn't even bring down ONE of Master's pokémon. She looked over to see that Leta was also finding it hard to believe that this fight was almost over for them. Her Dratini was panting heavily. It had proved to be quite a fighter for a Dratini, but just not strong enough to fight such strong opponents.

Master laughed at their futile attempt to stop from awakening Arceus. "You honestly believed that you could stop me? I haven't even changed out from my starting pokémon!" Master glanced up at the dimensional portal that he had Dialga and Palkia create. In the portal was where his fallen victims were being held. "And the brat with that _strong_ Pikachu that had given my Team Rocket such a hard time was nothing. It is just as weak as the next Pikachu."

Turning his attention back to the two girls in front of him, he decided that he needed to finish this battle and move on with his plan. "Machamp! Use Cross Chop and finish them both off!" 

Master's Machamp karate chopped both pokémon, making them faint where they stood and fall to the ground.

"Now, as the losers, it is off to the next dimension for you two girls!" Master said with a devious smile. He watched as both girls' bodies floated on up to the portal that hovered over their heads.

"NOOOOO! What have you done to them?!" a male's voice cried out.

Master turned around to see a young man jump off his Salamance at the edge of the mountain top. "Ahh, another challenger comes to take my place as the ruler of the world? How cute."

"The name is Adam. And I am going to _throw_ you from this mountain if it's the last thing I do!" Adam said.

"Do you honestly think that you can defeat me? After all, I just defeated these six kids with only one pokémon," Master said.

Adam spit on the ground. "That doesn't impress me. I could do that also," Adam smirked. Adam looked into the portal and saw Leta yelling at him. But he couldn't hear anything.

"That portal is a one-way hole. Nothing escapes. Nothing even sound," Master laughed.

"Are you going to keep laughing, or are you going to battle?" Adam said, holding up a pokéball.

Inside the portal, the six kids could see something that no one outside could. All of Master's pokémon were surrounded and protected by a black aura. That's how his pokémon never seemed to get any damage, or tire for that matter. And the black aura flowed from the portal itself. The portal that Master had opened up with the help of Dialga and Palkia led to a universe where darkness ruled. So it only seemed right that his pokémon would be more empowered by this black aura.

"Why couldn't you hear us tell you after we were sucked into this portal?" Gary asked Leta.

"Because we couldn't hear you period," Leta said. "This portal mustn't let sound out at all. Since Adam can't hear our warning about the aura that we can see now, his fate will be the same as ours."

"So that's why his pokémon never seemed to tire out or wear down," Mask thought to herself out loud. "This portal is giving power to his pokémon."

"We need to get out of this place," Leta said. "Ash, use Pikachu to…"

"It won't work," Ash said quietly. "We already tried that once we were captured in this dimension. And attacking the walls seems to just suck more energy out of the pokémon and feed it to Master's pokémon."

"Then, we're stuck, here?" Leta asked slowly, with her fear clearly in her voice.

"That is until someone can defeat that man," Gary said, with his head bowed down. "We're pretty much useless now." Gary punched at the portal. "I HAVE NEVER FELT SO USELESS IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!"

Master laughed at Adam's feeble attempt at trying to defeat even ONE of his pokémon. "You'll never defeat me, kid. I'm more powerful than you could ever imagine," Master laughed menacingly.

_How is it that he has already taken out most of my team, with only a flick of his pinkie?!_ Adam was dumbfounded. He was down to his Scizor and Salamence already, and the fight had only started a mere ten minutes ago. "DOUBLE HIT NIGHT SLASH!" Adam's Scizor was breathing hard, but wanted to desperately to defeat Master also. Launching itself, it became but a blur as it sped towards Master's Machamp and slashed at it with its claws. On the return attack, it wasn't as fast as it was, and Master's Machamp simply punched the Scizor in the face, using the pokémon's speed to make the impact.

"I believe that round is done also," Master said, as Scizor fell to the ground. Raising his hand, the Scizor was lifted and pushed into the portal. _Yet another one, and I become more powerful even more so!_

_I can't believe this is happening, _Adam thought to himself. Down to one last pokémon, Adam didn't want to lose his Salamence to this man. _Nor do I want to get caught in that portal either. _"What should I do?" he asked himself out loud.

"Give up," Master answered, having heard the question.

Adam stared at Master. He saw the portal behind Master. He saw his sister banging on the portal, trying to break out. Clinching his fist, he grew angrier, angrier than he had felt for a long time. In a harsh tone, Adam said, "I will _never _give up."

"Suit yourself," Master smirked.

"Salamence, fly up and use focus energy!" Adam called out. Salamence climbed into the sky, and hovered out of reach of the Machamp's jumping distance.

Master smiled to himself, waiting.

"Dragon breath!" Adam commanded. Salamence fired an incredible blast of breath at the Machamp. However, it seemed unfazed. "YOU DIRTY CHEAT!" Adam exclaimed, pointing his finger to Master.

"Why thank you for finally realizing it before it was too late for you," Master laughed. "Oh wait, it is too late for you!"

"You've been having you pokémon absorbing power from that portal!" Adam exclaimed.

"Yes, you are right about that. These pokémon that Chase has caught for me, has let me tap into the depths of the negative energy in the universe, for ultimate power," Master explained. "And this entire time, all of my pokémon have been empowered by this negative energy. NO ONE CAN DEFEAT ME!"

"Someday, someone will defeat you," Adam said dryly.

"Never. Now, I will finish you off, and claim what is rightfully mine! Machamp, Seismic Toss!" Master commanded. Adam watched as the Machamp jumped higher than any other Machamp could, and pile drive his Salamence into the ground.

Once the dust cleared, all could see that Salamence was knocked out. Master lifted his hand, lifting the dragon into the portal. Then turning to Adam, "Now, it is your turn to join your friends." Master lifted his hand, and lifted Adam through the air closer to the portal. "And when you get in there, tell that traitor of mine that Chase is no longer alive." With that, Adam was pushed into the portal.

Mask slammed herself against the portal. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE IS NO LONGER ALIVE?!"

Leta just stared out at Master. _No, longer, alive?_

Looking up at the portal, Master could see the two girls. One in shock and the other madder than a Taurus. He couldn't hear them, but knew what they were thinking. "You see, my dears, I knew he was going to betray me once he started to remember his past again. And I couldn't have that. And I know how much you liked him Mask. But you," he said to the other girl, "you seem to be the reason as to why he started to have his breakdowns. So I got rid of him," Master said laughing.

"And now with nothing to stop me from finally calling the great Arceus, I will play this Azure Flute and capture the strongest pokémon of all time!" Master laughed menacingly. Master placed the flute to his lips as he started to play the song to summon the great Arceus.

When he finished playing the flute, he lowered it and stared as a doorway appeared right before him. "This must be the door that leads into the Hall of Origin, where Arceus is waiting for me." He played the flute again to open the door. As the doors swung open, a bright light appeared 

from inside the doors. From inside, a large object moved outwards. "Great Arceus, prepare to be mine!" Master exclaimed.

"Not so fast," a voice said from below Arceus.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**I'm so sorry for such the long wait. But with school starting back up again, work, and life right now, I've been a little too busy to really sit down and work on this. As you can guess, life has gotten a little bit more hectic with school being thrown back into the mix after the long summer.**

**I hope to have the next chapter done relatively soon. Sooner than it took me to do this chapter anyways.**

**All I can ask is, please leave me a review! Love ya's!**


	13. Redemption

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series. I also don't own the character Mask, as CrystalMask does, along with the pokémon that she uses. And I don't own Kenny's friend, Shura, she belongs to the creators of Rurouni Kenshin.**

" " - talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' ' - speaking telepathically

Xxxxxx - break in day or event; Xxxxxxxxxxxx - change of days

Chase/Nogitsune – 20 yrs; Leta – 20 yrs; Kenny – 21 yrs; Mask – 18 yrs

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

"And now with nothing to stop me from finally calling the great Arceus, I will play this Azure Flute and capture the strongest pokémon of all time!" Master laughed menacingly. Master placed the flute to his lips as he started to play the song to summon the great Arceus.

When he finished playing the flute, he lowered it and stared as a doorway appeared right before him. "This must be the door that leads into the Hall of Origin, where Arceus is waiting for me." He played the flute again to open the door. As the doors swung open, a bright light appeared from inside the doors. From inside, a large object moved outwards. "Great Arceus, prepare to be mine!" Master exclaimed.

"Not so fast," a voice said from below Arceus.

Everyone's head snapped to a boulder that was a few steps down from the doors that had just opened. Standing on the boulder was a person in an all black cloak and hood.

"How dare you stand between me and my ultimate prize!" Master bellowed.

"How dare I?" the cloaked figure asked, turning around to face Master. "How dare you!"

Master stared at the cloaked figure before him. What he saw was a person before him wearing nothing but pure black. Black cloak, pants, shirt, mask. The only thing not black was the eyes of this person. The eyes glowed red.

"Who are you?!" Master asked.

"By the end of our battle, you'll know the truth about me," the cloak figured said. "But right now, no more questions, let's go!" The figure held up a poke ball, and waited for Master to make his move.

_Who is he?_ Master asked himself, fumbling for a poke ball.

"Oh," the figure interrupted, "your trick with the portal is no longer needed." And with that, the portal hovered to the ground, and disappeared. "You may have had Palkia and Dialga create that portal, but Arceus can undo whatever they do, being a god that he is."

Finally free from the portal, everyone stared at their unknown rescuer. Neither one of them could put a finger on who this person was.

"LET THE BATTLE BEGIN!" the figure yelled, as both he and Master released their pokemon.

"I will crush you, then I'LL KILL YOU!" Master yelled as his pokémon appeared.

"You already have," the figure said. "**Twice**," the figure said, but in a darker voice.

Mask and Leta recognized the voices. "That couldn't be…" Mask started to say.

"Chase, and Nogitsune?" Leta finished. The figure pulled back the hood from over his head. Sure enough, it was Chase. But his eyes were glowing red.

"It can't be," Master said, surprised as he took a step back. "How is this possible?"

Chase pointed his finger at Master. "Master of Neo Team Rocket, former boss of Team Rocket, Giovanni Sakaki, I will defeat you!"

Master gritted his teeth. _He knows my true identity. These kids must not be left to live! _"Machamp, cross chop now!"

"Confusion," Chase said. His Espeon's eyes glowed brightly as the raging Machamp stopped in its tracks before chopping the psychic Eevee. Soon, the Machamp was smashing all around the Espeon, and not landing on its target.

"YOU STILL MACHAMP! HIT THE ESPEON WITH SUBMISSION!" Giovanni yelled at his pokemon. The Machamp snapped out of its confusion after being yelled at by its master. It then charged the Espeon with a full force body slam. But the range at which it was at, the Espeon had no time to react.

"Sunny! Get back up and use quick attack!" The Espeon recovered rather quickly then became nothing but a blur as it circled the Machamp, waiting for a chance to attack. The Machamp watched as it spun around trying to keep an eye on the Espeon. But it soon lost track, and then the Espeon struck. The Machamp fell to the ground with a dull thud, knocked out and confused.

"How could this be?" Giovanni gritted his teeth. "If only that Chase hadn't come back, and that Arceus wasn't blocking the negative powers of the universe from my pokemon." Giovanni recalled his fainted Machamp, and readied himself for the next round. "ROLLOUT!" Giovanni commanded, as he released his next pokemon, his Golem. Right out of the pokéball, the rolling mass of rock made a straight line for the Espeon, knocking it out immediately.

Recalling his Espeon, Chase grabbed another poke ball. _**My turn yet?**_Nogitsune asked from within Chase. "Not yet," Chase replied out loud, then released his next choice of pokemon. "Aquis, your turn!"

"Roll out again!"

"Hydro pump!

The Golem rolled right through the water like it was nothing and slammed into the Vaporeon and sent it flying backwards a ways. While the water Eevee was trying to regain its footing, the Golem came back and nailed it again. This time, it landed right up against a wall, and couldn't move out of the way in time. The Vaporeon got crushed between the wall and the rolling rocky mass of the Golem.

"That's two down, ready to surrender yet?" Giovanni taunted.

"Never," answered Chase. He recalled the fainted Vaporeon and grabbed another one of his pokemon.

"Even without the force of the negative side of the universe, Master is going to defeat Chase," Mask said out loud. "And that Golem is one of Master's strongest pokemon. It has next to no weaknesses."

"Rock types are weak against water, and grass. And Chase just lost his only weapon against that thing," Leta said.

"He has one more option on that Golem," Mask smiled.

"What is it?" Ash and Leta asked her.

"The kid has a Leafia." Gary said. Mask nodded her head.

"My boy, you can't defeat me now! I know your team, and you don't have anything that can defeat a rock type!" Giovanni gloated.

"Yes, I, do," Chase said calmly, as he released his Leafia. "Leaf Blade."

"Roll out again!"

The two pokemons' attacks collided with each other, but the Golem pushed through the attack. It slammed the smaller pokemon and sent it flying into a wall, where it fainted on impact. The Golem, collapsed after using the same attack over and over again, and from sheer exhaustion from the grass attack it just went through.

Master gritted his teeth. _Damn it. I've only got one more pokemon with me. I never thought that I'd need more than just these three!_ Master pulled out his last pokéball and his last chance at capturing Arceus. "Persian, you're my last chance at world domination!"

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, but that isn't going to happen!" Chase said, releasing his Eevee. The smaller pokemon glared at its bigger opponent. "Size isn't everything Fox, let's do this! Quick Attack!"

"Copy his attack!" Master commanded his Persian. The two pokemon circled each other trying to get a clear shot at the other. All at once, they launched themselves at each other, colliding with enough force to send the two pokemon off the battlefield.

"Get back up here and finish the fight Persian! I command you!" Master yelled at his pokemon, as it slowly crawled back to the battlefield.

Chase knelt down beside his Eevee. _He can't continue, his breathing is too labored. He may not be able to make it the Center to be healed before this battle is over. I have to…_ Chase turned and stared at Master. His eyes grew even darker as he let himself let go of his control.

"**He he he, guess who's back!" **Nogitsune said, through Chase's body.

"I don't care who you are, I'm still not defeated!" Master exclaimed.

"**You will be soon enough, murderer**," Nogitsune said, pulling out a pokéball and releasing the pokemon from within. "**Sparks, open up with a thunderbolt!"** The electric Eevee launched its attack as it came out of the pokéball.

"Persian, counter using the same attack!" Master ordered his Persian. The two attacks collided and exploded in the air. The explosion's blast left a cloud of dust over the battlefield where it covered the two battling pokemon.

When the dust cleared, the sight that was left was unbelievable. The Persian was the Jolteon by the throat, and let the limp body fall to the ground.

_**How strong is this Persian?**_ He recalled the fainted Jolteon.

"How strong is this pokemon?" Leta asked out loud.

"That Persian has taken out two of his pokemon. Does that thing have a weakness?" Mask asked.

"Persians have a weakness," Gary said. "And that weakness is against a fighting type. And I would bet that your boy doesn't have a fighting type at all, because there isn't a fighting type Eevee."

"So this fight is going to come down to brute force, isn't it?" Leta asked, with a slight edge in her voice.

"Just watch, he'll come through," Mask said, hoping that Chase could pull it off.

Nogitsune looked at the pokemon beside him. _**This is going to be it, or nothing. **_**"Shadow!" **The Umbreon jumped into the battleat the command. It sat as it glared at the Persian. Soon, the glare turned into a growl, as it got up on all fours and started to circle the Persian. The Persian did the same, growling as it circled.

The next half hour, the two pokémon circled one another, ignoring the commands from their masters. They growled at one another, and occasionally yelled at one another. Neither pokémon should a weakness that could be exploited by the other. Their circles grew smaller and smaller until they were close enough to take a swipe at the other. They separated and resumed their places beside their masters.

"What was that about?" Leta asked.

"Those two have had their differences since Chase was forced to join NTR," Mask explained. "Not a day went by that those two didn't try to off the other.."

"What do you mean by 'off the other'?" Leta asked, confused by the language.

"She means to kill the other," Kenny said.

"And they were just agreeing that this would decide their fates," Mask said. She knew that the Persian had one weakness that mostly no one knew about. _It's tail is that Persian's weakness._ "And so the final showdown begins," she said, as the two launched themselves at each other.

The two pokémon ignored their masters' orders as they fought as fiercely as they could. Neither one of the showed any signs of letting up in ferocity. The battle didn't see any signs of slowing down until Shadow grabbed the Persian's tail. At that moment, the battle froze. The Persian had a shocked look on its face, with a silent scream coming from it's mouth. Shadow released the Persian, unsure of what to make of its opponent's sudden frozen state. Before the Persian could regain its composure, Shadow tackled the Persian, knocking it onto its back, and grabbed the neck of the pokemon and squeezed its neck, cutting off its air. The Persian, realizing what was happening, and not being able to breathe, struggled. Shadow held the struggling Persian in place as it tried to kick the Eevee off its body. The struggling finally subsided as the Persian's body fell limp.

"**And now, with all your pokemon done, there's just one more thing to take care of,**" Nogitsune said, with a darker voice than normal. Shadow slinked its way towards Master. Master started to back up slowly. Nogitsune also started to close in on Master. "**You murdered me. Now, it's your turn!"**

Shadow launched himself at Master's throat, but was stopped in mid-air. Shadow looked at Nogitsune with a confused look. Nogitsune turned to look at Arceus.

"_My child,_" Arceus said, "_you can't kill him._"

"**And why not?!" **Nogitsune challenged. "**He killed me!"**

"_I want him to live in an alternate universe, one that is parallel to this one,"_ Arceus said. "_He'll be able to walk around in this world for all eternity. But he won't be able to contact any one, or use any pokemon. He will live, for eternity, with the agony of not being able to talking to anyone, or having any control over anything._"

"**BUT HE KILLED ME!**" Nogitsune yelled enraged.

"_And you can finally move on,"_ Arceus replied. Nogitsune growled as Master slowly started to fade from everyone's vision.

"I'll be back, you brats!" Master yelled out before he disappeared.

"And I'll be waiting," Chase said, after Nogitsune released control. He watched Master finally disappear from sight. As soon as Master was gone, he collapsed to the ground.

"CHASE!" Leta yelled, running to his side. When she reached him, his breathing was labored. "Come on, let's get you to a hospital."

Chase looked up at Leta. With a weak smile he handed her his belt. "Take care of them. I can't do anything now…" He fell silent as his body went limp.

"Chase," Leta whispered. She held onto him not wanting to let him go. "I can't let you go Chase."

"**He's already gone, Leta,**" Nogitsune said. Leta looked up. Nogitsune's spirit floated in the air above the ground.

"He can't be gone," Leta cried.

"**I couldn't leave his body without him dying,**" Nogitsune said. "**His death has set me free. But he's already died. He's been dead for the past week. Arceus gave him the chance to redeem himself by having him fend off Master. And he decided to fight one last time. No matter what the outcome was. He knew, that win or lose, he was going to die again.**"

"_And child, it keeps the balance in the universe. A great evil is gone. But he had to sacrifice himself to make sure of that,_" Arceus coolly.

"SCREW THE BALANCE! HE FOUGHT TO SAVE THE WORLD! HE SHOULD BE ABLE TO LIVE!" Leta yelled at Arceus with tears in her eyes. She suddenly felt a warm hand on her face. She turned to see who's hand it was. Her eyes finally rested on those of Chase's.

"Leta, I have died once already. I only came back to make sure that you would be safe from Master," Chase said, trying to hide the pain in his eyes. He knew that he would be slipping soon. "Please take care of me pokemon. And don't worry about me. I'll watch over you from the other side. I fought my entire life to find the man who was responsible for my parents. Now that he's gone, I have nothing left to do. And I'd love nothing better than to be with you. But I've died once already, and I should be dead."

"But I don't want to leave you," Leta cried softly.

"And I'll never leave you," Chase said painfully. "Remember, I'll nev…" his hand fell from her face as he fell silent in her arms again.

Kenny knelt beside Chase and put his hand to Chase's neck. After a few seconds, he looked up to Leta, and shook his head sadly. Then, just like how Mater vanished, Chase did as well, leaving Leta holding nothing but air and the belt that Chase had handed her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Sorry for the long wait people. I'm so sorry! Between school and work, my life has been very busy lately.**

**Hope ya'll are having a good holiday season. See ya guys next year!**

**Oh, tell me what you think. REVIEW!**


	14. The End

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. But I do own this story line and everything that isn't from the series. I also don't own the character Mask, as CrystalMask does, along with the pokémon that she uses.**

" "- talking; _Italics – _thinking; ' '- speaking telepathically

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

It had been five years since Chase had disappeared from her life for a second time. She had him in her arms. She remembered the feeling of his warmth fading. She remembered him handing her his belt, asking her to take care of his pokémon. At first, she didn't think that she could go on knowing that she lost him twice.

But as time went on, Leta slowly tried to put her pain aside and move on. After not leaving her house for a year, she suddenly disappeared. No one knew where she had gone. But they knew she had gone on her own journey to try to heal her heart. It wasn't until she had become a respectable dragon trainer in her own name that she finally returned home the night before Christmas.

"So how many years has it been since you left?" Adam asked, taking a sip of tea. The entire Masters family sat at the dinner table catching up on one another.

"Four and a half," Leta said calmly.

Her father sat his cup on the table. "And in those four years, you never bothered to call or make a house visit. How has that gym of yours been doing lately?"

Having become a dragon master herself, Leta had become a pupil of Claire, the dragon master of the Blackthorn Gym. And for the past year, she had been in control of the gym since Claire's departure.

"How did you know about that?" Leta asked, surprised that her father knew of her becoming a gym leader. Her father held up a newspaper, with the front page with the change of the Blackthorn Gym leader.

"Meet any new boys?" her mother asked. Leta had learned upon her arrival that Adam and his wife, Megan, were expecting to have their first child in a few months.

Leta had travelled with several boys on her own journeys. But she had never let any get close to her. "No mother. There was only one boy that I wanted. And he's gone."

"You know, Ryan's been asking about you a lot lately," her mother stated.

"RYAN IS A RICH SNOB!" Leta yelled, as she slammed her hands on the table, and then left the table quickly. She ran up the stairs to her old room, locking the door behind her. Hiding her face in her pillows, she cried her eyes out.

Xxxxxx

Leta found herself walking through a fog. She had been walking for what seemed like forever. _This fog is so thick, I can't see anything. Wait, what's that ahead?_ She saw a shadow up ahead in the fog. As she got closer, the shadow turned around to face her.

"I've been watching you," the shadow said, as it walked towards her.

Leta couldn't believe it. It was Chase! She had always felt something watching over her. She just assumed it was him all the time.

"And I must admit, you've become quite the dragon trainer Leta," Chase said. "There was no doubt in my mind that you'd do so great."

"I've missed you so much," Leta said, close to tears.

"And I've missed you as well," Chase said back to her. He had stopped just out of her arms' reach. "You've become so strong and have become exactly what you wanted. Leta, you've become one of the world's greatest dragon trainers in all of history."

"But none of it means anything to me. I've searched for a way to bring you back to me," Leta said, starting to cry.

"You've always had me," Chase laughed. "That warm feeling in the morning, that feeling of never being alone, and always never being bored. That was all me."

"It's not the same as having you with me," Leta cried.

"Remember," Chase said with a smile, "I'll never leave you." He reached out his hand, as did Leta, hoping to feel his touch again.

Xxxxxx

Leta woke up the next morning, with a feeling that she was holding someone in her arms. But when she opened her eyes, she knew what she'd see. It was the same thing that she's been looking at for the past four and half years, nothing. She didn't want to get out of bed, because she knew the moment she did, she'd lose the feeling.

"Hey Leta, you coming down for breakfast?" her mother asked from the other side of the door.

"I will in a few minutes," Leta mumbled. She listened as her mother walked back down the stairs. She rolled over to look at her pokémon. Along with her pokémon, she saw Chase's eevees. It was one of the few things that got her out of bed every morning. Knowing that Chase had trusted her to take care of them, she got up so that she could care for them.

By the time she got down the stairs, everyone was unwrapping their presents. She gave out the gifts that she had brought with her. She stepped outside to get away from all the joy that everyone was enjoying. She had told her family that she wanted to go for a walk out in the snow by herself. Without any objections, she left, only going with Shadow.

She had walked some distance before saying anything. "It's been five years Shadow. Five long years."

Shadow's ears dropped down. He was hoping not to have to go through this again. Every year, at this time, just they would go for a walk, and Leta would talk and then cry more. But he sensed a difference in his master of five years.

"Adam and Megan are preparing for their first child. Mother is happy about that. Mask, I mean Marianna, and Ash are out exploring some new region together. Misty and Gary are married, with one child, and expecting another. What do you think? You think I should try to find some guy and fall in love again?" she asked Shadow.

Before Shadow could answer, he turned his ears to the right of them. He could've sworn that he heard something. But the only thing he saw was a tree. Leta had caught onto Shadow's actions, and looked at the tree herself. They both looked at each other, then turned back to the house to go back home.

"I've been watching you."

Leta froze in mid step. She couldn't turn her body. _Did I just hear his voice?_

"I must admit, you've become quite the dragon trainer Leta."

She turned around to see a figure standing in front of the tree. Her mouth opened to try to say something, but no sound came out.

Shadow was in shock just as much as she was. He had watched his old master fade from existence years ago.

"There was no doubt in my mind that you'd do so great," the figure said, walking towards Leta and Shadow. In a few seconds, Chase stood in front of Leta. He wore the same clothes he wore when he fought Master all those years ago.

Leta couldn't believe it. Everything told her that this had to be another dream. _But he's closer than he's ever been in any of my dreams. He's never come closer than just out of arms reach until the end._ She reached up with her hands, and placed them on his face. _This isn't a dream! _ The tears started to fall as she wrapped her arms around Chase, saying, "I've missed you so much!"

"I know," Chase said, wrapping his arms around her. "And I've missed you as well."

She pulled away. "But I thought that you were gone forever, to maintain balance in the universe. Why now?"

"I guess there are some things that even the great Arceus can't even control," Chase answered. "But, sooner or later we were going to be together again. Arceus figured it best to be this way"

"So, are you here to stay?" Leta asked hopefully.

"As long as you want me," Chase smiled. Next thing he knew, he was tackled onto the snow by Leta.

She wouldn't let him up, for she feared that this was still somehow a dream. But all doubt flew out of her mind when he rolled them over in snow, and softly kissed her lips. At that moment, she knew that she wasn't dreaming. And that he was here to stay.

When they finally sat up, Chase looked over to Shadow, who was smiling and waving his tail back and forth. "I see that you've taken care of Shadow," Chase said, patting his old Umbreon on the head. Shadow barked in appreciation.

"Come on, let's get back home!" Leta said, excited.

Just before entering her house, Chase paused for a second outside. "What's wrong?" Leta asked him.

"Oh, nothing. Just, wear this as you walk in," Chase said, pulling off the pendant that he was wearing inside his cloak.

"Why?" Leta asked with a puzzled look, putting on the pendant.

"You'll see," he replied, with a smile.

"Oooooookay," she said, catching onto his little surprise plan.

"Hey everyone!" Leta said, walking through the door.

"Hey honey," her father said from his recliner.

"Have a good walk," asked her brother Adam.

"Yup," Leta answered cheerfully as she walked past him on her way to the kitchen.

_That's odd. She hasn't been this cheery for a long time,_ Adam thought. Both he and his father exchanged glances and nodded. They followed her into the kitchen.

"Everything ok?" her father asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "Why, what's wrong?"

"You just seem more cheerful than usual," Adam said.

Leta was trying hard to not just blurt out her surprise. She kept tipping back and forth, from left to right, swinging to pendant. She watched as Adam saw the pendant, and saw his brain try to figure out who would give her such a pendant.

Suddenly, Adam realized what that pendant was. It had been fifteen years ago. He opened his mouth to say something, but couldn't speak. He just pointed at the pendant, and Leta giggled. It was the same pendant that Leta had given Chase on their first Christmas. At the sound of her giggle, the front door opened and a young man with a cloak over his arm entered, with a red ringed Umbreon beside him.

"Hi Leta! I'm home!" Chase said.

"CHASEY!" Leta yelled, running around her father and brother to get to Chase, and kissed him.

Her father and brother looked at each other with a confused look, then to Chase. "Chase?" they both asked together.

"Oh, hi Mr. Masters, hi Adam," Chase said, still holding Leta in his arms. "Miss me?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxx

**Well, there you go! The ending to The Return of Chase. Hope you liked it! **

**If you thought I was done with the last chapter, did you really think I'd end it without saying 'THE END'? Hope not. I like to let you know when I'm done. Soooooo, THE END!**

**Tell me what you thought. I encourage all types of reviews. So, REVIEW BEFORE I COME AND HUNT YOU DOWN! Hehehe.**

**Now, after the New Year, I'm going start on my next project. So, catch you next year!**


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